Dripping Wings
by SilverLily aka Blood Moon
Summary: A poor street punk is sucked into another world where magick and strange goddesses rule...and finds himself actually apart of this madness as he spreads his wings. Shounen-ai. Y-YY
1. Chasms

**Dripping Wings**

Wet hair rustled with noise as a towel was vigorously rubbed over it. Afterwards, it was carefully dropped on the dirty wood floor, the one to have dropped it beginning to dress with their only set of clothes. Yuugi shivered as he finished putting on his shirt, holding his arms close to his chest as he walked towards the blurred window pane, watching as the rain pounded mercilessly against the tired glass.

Life sucked. No, seriously, life was really, horribly terrible. He simply had to born into a poor life, with a poor past, with a poor character. He wished Jou was there right then. He hated being alone in that run down dump.

But no. Jou was out getting drunk right now. He knew Jou was trying to drink his life away, but he woke up every morning to cold, hard reality, and started to get drunk again. But at least Jou knew how to use a blade, and at least Jou was usually drunk enough to not feel any remorse after killing somebody.

It was cold. Winter was beginning to set in, and the heavy rains had come. Soon, they would turn into snow, and the lack of insulation in that rotten little apartment would become all too apparent. Yuugi was worried. Of course, he always worried, but right now something was really nagging at him. The rain always seemed to do that to him.

The city outside looked dirty, the rain doing little to wash away the filth. It seemed nothing could ever get this side of the town to come clean, even if someone decided to douse the whole area with bleach, it would only taint the bleach.

He dropped his head, scratching just behind his ear. A nervous habit he had developed. God, was it cold. At least leather seamed to insulate very well, no matter how old it was. Jou insisted that he wear it. The bad ass look was always safer than the poor, lost little boy. Not as many people tired to put a knife to your throat.

Yuugi froze when he heard movement coming up the stairs outside his door. Voices he didn't recognize were yelling at each other, not worrying about being quiet as they trampled their way through the decrepit building. _Oh, gods no..._

The door knob jiggled. Yuugi bolted to hide in the closet, closing the shuttered door as quickly and as silently as possible.

Three large men burst into the apartment, looking around warily. "Where's the damn shrimp," one of them growled. His buddies were walking around, poking through what little there was there. One picked up Yuugi's damp towel. The teenager cursed to himself. "Hey, somebody's been here," the man growled. "Either they're still here, or they just left."

Yuugi held his breath, praying to any deity that would listen that they didn't find him. He knew they were out for his blood. Jou owed them money. And since they could never find Jou, they were going to get to him through Jou's only friend.

A man started to walk towards the closet, but left view as he drew closer. Yuugi sighed a little. He had probably gone off to the bedroom.

But he almost jumped out of his skin when the closet door burst open. A nasty grin full of rotten teeth smiled benevolently at him. "Found you, runt." Yuugi cried out when the front of his shirt was roughly grabbed and he was dragged out of the closet.

"No, please, I didn't do anything!"

"Guilt by association, twerp." A rusty blade was drawn and placed directly over the artery in his throat. Fear gripped his heart, and the familiar adrenaline rush began to take over.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. It couldn't have been, in order for Yuugi to still be alive to this day. Suddenly, all of his senses were heightened, and he took in where every body in that room was, and where his escape routes were.

Bingo.

Wriggling out of his only sweater, Yuugi bolted to the door, winding easily around the thugs in the way. They yelled angrily at him, but he knew better than to look back. He ran for all he was worth.

The cold air blasted him as he rushed out the apartment complex door. The rain blasted him too, soaking his leather shirt and pants, and somehow managing to slip all the way down to his bones.

His pursuers were close behind. He could almost feel them pounding up behind him. Yuugi huffed and puffed heavily as he ran on, his vision blurring horrendously with the icy rainfall. "Get back here, bitch! We're not done with you!!"

_Damn it Jou, where are you...you're supposed to be able to fight them off for me... _

Yuugi started to panic when his path was suddenly cut short. A man hole in front of him seemed to collapse in on itself, leaving a seemingly black abyss directly in front of him. The chasm was too wide for him to jump over, too. His ears were bombarded with the thunderous booms of the thunder and falling gravel. He looked behind him. No good. Those thugs were so close, and there was now way he could weave around them now. The alley he had run down was far too narrow. Their sick grins smiled at him again. A flash of steel caught his eye. He turned back around.

This couldn't be real. No, it couldn't. The rain was clouding his vision far too much.

Then why did he fall when those shadows wafting out of the chasm caught his ankle and pulled him down?

"No!" He cried, clawing at the pavement under his nose as he was dragged towards the black abyss. He didn't want to die yet!

The thugs were so close now, he could see the pimples on their dirty faces. And those daggers looked so, _so _old. They looked to have been corroding for ages now.

Perhaps he should take his chances with the shadowy abyss. At least the fall would kill him quickly. The ones after him would spend a lot of time toying with him before they killed him, most likely.

Just as those dirty hands almost grabbed his arms, Yuugi let go, and allowed himself to be sucked into darkness. Even their screams of anger faded away into the distance.

xxx

Yuugi woke up groggy and cold...still. He registered that he was on a hard floor, smooth and unblemished. A floor that smooth had to be marble or granite, with how hard it felt. Also meaning that the floor was very expensive, and he was therefore in a place that costed a bit of money.

Boy, was he not going to fit in.

He opened up his eyes, seeing that his assumption had been correct. He was laying down on a black granite floor. It sparkled with white and silver specks, causing it to look like a clear night sky. It was pretty.

The walls around him sparkled gold and silver, just pale enough to not look gaudy, but rather ethereal. Pillars and columns and monstrously high ceilings surrounded him. Alcoves holding statues of women he didn't recognize holding staves with symbols affixed to the tops. It was ominous in a way, and yet somehow comforting. They almost looked like guardians.

There were voices talking somewhere around a corner. Yuugi froze instinctively, but calmed a little, only a little, when it didn't sound like the voices were arguing. That was strange. Voices always argued. Why weren't these?

Two men walked swiftly into view, conversing lightly with one another. Yuugi couldn't understand the language. He'd never heard it before.

But he couldn't believe what one of the people looked like.

And, it seemed, that the other person could hardly believe it either, for crimson eyes looked at him filled with confusion. "_Mentehu, nehstal aeyetah. Senashu me-ent ylaseh." _

Yuugi could only gape from his spot on the floor. Wow. It was amazing just how much of a deeper voice his duplicate had. And such darker skin, too. His duplicate was wearing clean white linens that clung greedily to his hips, wrapped lovingly around a muscular chest, and wore a blood red cape that billowed out behind him. Gold jewelry adorned his arms and neck and legs and waist. The only way Yuugi could describe him was pretty. So very, very sparkly and pretty. "I'm sorry," he spoke. "I don't understand your language."

His duplicate and the other man looked at Yuugi strangely. The one that looked so much like him walked up to him swiftly. Out of instinct, Yuugi held his arms up defensively, curling in on himself. The other him stopped short, slowing his pace. _Well, he doesn't seem to intend me harm..._

The teen found himself gaping. How could he have missed such a blatant detail? _Gods, he's wearing a crown. I'm so fucked. _

The other him came very close, gently taking hold of one of Yuugi's forearms and pulling him up to his feet. Yuugi realized now that his back was pressed against a wall. He didn't realize there was a wall behind him...

"_Betehb kestuhna. Meyshyu ashaleh ne pyahna es ne." _

Yuugi shook his head, violet eyes wide. "I still don't understand."

The other him didn't seem to have a sense of personal space. He moved closer and closer, taking very critical looks at Yuugi's attire and hair, his eyes and face, his skin color and his height. The other him sniffed lightly, then hid his nose into Yuugi's hair just behind his ear. Goose bumps jumped up the teen's skin. Not really in fear, and not really in discomfort. He really didn't know what to make of the feeling, so he decided to push it off until later.

The other him hummed appreciatively. Apparently he smelled good. Yuugi was just glad he got a shower before he was sucked into this strange, beautiful place.

The other him pulled back, looking at him with unanswered questions in his eyes. He looked to his companion standing quietly behind him. "_Ksesune nehenta ehya mesta me tu yla. Kyesa._" His companion nodded, walking off.

Yuugi watched as the other him pulled a small vial from a pouch tied around his waist. Opening it up, he took a small sip, offering it to the one in front of him. The teen looked at it skeptically. It couldn't be poison, otherwise the other him wouldn't have taken any of it. Right? Or perhaps it was a trick.

The other him waited patiently. Finally, Yuugi decided that if it was poison, at least he could die without any torture. And if it wasn't, then he had found at least one person he could marginally trust. He couldn't lose, right?

Right?

A pale hand shakily took up the vial, looking up silently for further encouragement. He received a warm smile. Yuugi shrugged. What the hell. He downed what was in the vial.

It wasn't all that foul tasting. It was like that flavored water, with a faint hint of chalk behind it. He handed the now empty vial back.

"Can you understand me now?"

Yuugi looked up completely surprised. "Perfectly. What happened?"

"That was a linguistics potion I gave you. I meet people often who don't speak my tongue, and try to keep a vial of it on me at all times."

"What's going on? Where am I? And who are you? I've never seen this place before, or heard of anything like it for that matter. How did I get here?

The other him laughed lightly. "One question at a time, please. My name is Atemu. You are in my...well, you are at my home. I for one do not know how you got here, or where you got clothing as strange and worn out as you have on, and what's going on is I just sent my friend out to make a contact for me. I know someone who will be able to answer more of our questions than either of us can. Now, tell me, who are you? And where are you from?"

Yuugi looked around himself in wonder, unable to comprehend the amount of money and power one would have to have to live in a place like this. "My name is Yuugi, and I'm from Domino, Japan."

Atemu frowned hard. "Never heard of such a place."

Where is your home located," Yuugi asked.

"Sekesha."

Now it was his turn to frown hard. "I've never heard of such a place." Suddenly, another thought popped into his head. "And how did that potion work? Magic or something?"

"How else," Atemu asked him, confused.

_Perhaps I dropped into another dimension..._

"Your highness! She's here!"

They both turned around when Atemu's companion from before walked back in, another person in tow behind him. Yuugi's jaw hit the floor. Was she real? Or had she jumped out of some strange dream?

Silver hair reached down past her waist, billowing and shiny. Pale skin was wrapped up tightly in a glimmering white gown that was highly form fitting, a sparkling pendant that shined so much around her neck, Yuugi couldn't really make out what it was. Crystal blue eyes looked him up and down, scrutinizing his appearance. "He's not from here," she spoke. "Or anywhere near here." She walked up to Yuugi and looked at him very closely. He backed up a little bit in reply. Apparently, she had no real sense of personal space, either. "What happened to you before you ended up here," she asked. Her voice gave Yuugi the impression that she was not in the mood to put up with any crap. It was all business.

"Well, I was running down the street, and a man hole opened up in front of me, and I swear, I'm not going crazy, but these shadows came up and sucked me in. The next thing I knew, I woke up here not understanding a word of your language." __

She cursed in another language entirely. "One of those."

Now Yuugi was very confused. "What do you mean?"

She looked back to Atemu, ignoring the question. "I swear the realm is getting a mind of its own."

Atemu simply shrugged.

She looked back to Yuugi again. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Hm. Yes, that sounds just about right. Maybe a little old, but still in the right age bracket." She pulled out a deep purple velvet pouch that Yuugi swore she hadn't had just a moment ago. She put her hand into it. "Step away from the wall and hold you arms out for me." She backed up a little, giving Yuugi some more room. "Now."

The teen swallowed. He knew he really didn't want to get her mad. He walked forward a little bit and held his arms out. The woman pulled her hand out of the bag and threw a fistful of silver dust over his head and arms. Yuugi sneezed a little, unable to help the response.

All three of the others in the hall seemed to look pleased.

"You have the Glow of the Gifted, child. Which means you were indeed pulled here for a reason. You're just lucky you ended up here instead of some other place less desirable." The woman put her pouch away, and Yuugi was again unable to see where it went.

"I was pulled here for a reason," Yuugi repeated. "What do you mean? I'm confused."

"I'll explain it all later. Come. We must get back to the compound."

"But-"

She turned and looked at him harshly. Yuugi's rebuttal shriveled up before it was even spoken. The woman looked back to Atemu and his friend. "I'm sure I'll see you soon, Sire."

Atemu gave her a lazy wave. "I'm sure you're right." Yuugi looked at him as they started to head down the hall. Atemu came up to him before he could completely leave, setting a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "Don't take her too seriously," he whispered.

"I heard that," she retorted from ahead of them.

Yuugi smiled, receiving a wink from his duplicate. "Good luck, Yuugi."

The teen gave a weak smile as he left the other him behind.

The woman in front of him walked purposefully onward, not bothering to look behind herself to make sure Yuugi was still following. It was obvious no one was going to hold his hand through any of this, which really came as no surprise to the young teen.

She led him around many turns and corridors and halls and walkways until they came to a large circular room. Again, there were numerous alcoves that held numerous figures of women standing tall, garbed much like the real woman standing before him, holding tall staves with symbols resting on top. All of them were distinct in their appearance, with individual hair and eyes and figures. He counted thirteen in all.

"So...what's really going on here," Yuugi asked.

The woman sighed and turned to him, holding yet another pouch he had no idea she had. This one was silver in color. "Come here towards the center of this circle on the floor." Yuugi looked down, seeing indeed a large circle on the sparkling granite floor, surrounded by in fact many symbols. If fact...they were the same ones on the staves of those women statues. __

"Don't move a muscle," she said. Yuugi could do nothing but reply.

She threw a sparkling crimson dust over them, muttering words he couldn't understand. He tried his best not to move, but oh how he wanted to look as a light from the floor caught the corner of his eye. The circle underneath of them was lighting up!!

Suddenly, all sense of feeling left him as his vision was blinded by a bright white light. _Man, this place sure is strange._

When Yuugi's sense of feeling came back to his muscles, he found his rump firmly dropped on the floor. "Ow," he moaned, attempting to stand and rub the sore area at the same time. The strange woman looked at him, standing tall with her arms crosses. "You get used to it, or you figure out how to overcome it."

Yuugi scowled, and for the first time got half a grin from the woman. "Can I at least get some answers now??"

She gave him a hand up, and started walking again. Yuugi followed. The area they were in this time was circular, much like the last room, with the same statues everywhere, but it was more gothic in appearance, and a bit darker in atmosphere.

"I am known as the Priestess, but Headmistress will also do. This is the Sekesha Hall Compound, a school of sorts to teach the Gifts of elements and sorcery. Sekesha is the name of this country, ruled by the Prince His Royal Highness Atemu. The planet you are currently on is called Assahiineh. The language you are speaking, whether you realize it or not, is called Asalyaseh, which when translated by an outsider who doesn't speak it is really a bunch of gibberish. It is a language comprised of magic, where thoughts are put behind that gibberish to convey a thought. Because of our abilities, it is far more precise in conveying thoughts and ideas that any other tongue ever created. Poor peasants can not speak it, and it is very sacred. Yes, that's right, even the cuss words are sacred, used mainly in curses."

Yuugi gave a sheepish grin when she looked back at him.

"I am the Headmistress of this compound. My word is law within these perimeters."

Yuugi was given some time to digest all of this information. "All right, that was helpful. But how did I get here? And why?"

"I can tell you now, Yuugi, that you are not the first one to drop in on us, and you won't be the last. Those shadows were an extension of the magic always flowing in this realm. People who live in other dimensions grow talents that can be put to excellent use here, and are otherwise wasted elsewhere. It seems that this realm hates to see magick and elements go to waste."

"And I supposedly have some 'Gift' that your realm thinks can be put to good use?"

The Priestess nodded, her silver hair glimmering. "That's right. We're going to find right now just what kind of talent you have."

Yuugi asked a question that had been bothering him. "What about the whole age thing? If I do have some talent, why wasn't I sucked up by a black abyss earlier?"

"Because Gifts don't appear until puberty or later. Twenty is the latest anything can develop, but it's rare that it waits that long to develop."

"Ah. And I just so happen to have landed in Atemu's palace then?"

"Like I said. You were very lucky. Many people wind up out in the middle of nowhere, or worse, in un-welcoming territory."

"Such as?"

"Oh, a vampire's home, or a tomb filled with zombies, or worse..."

Yuugi shuddered. He didn't want to know what 'wore' entailed. "Why does he look so much like me?"

"Why shouldn't he," she retorted. Yuugi shrugged. After all, it was possible. This was a different dimension, after all. __

Suddenly, the Headmistress stopped, gabbed a key from the folds of her dress, and unlocked a door that was so large, Yuugi didn't even realize they had walked up to it. It looked more like a complete wall than a door.

It creaked loudly and groaned angrily as it opened. "Move easy," the woman warned. "There are Obsidian Dragons hiding behind these doors. Only those accompanied by me can come through without pain and death."

Yuugi swallowed, and only heard their labored breathing as they walked through, unable to see the massive beasts in the gloom beyond the entrance.

Was that a spark?

The doors slammed closed behind them. The Priestess seemed unaffected. She began to talk again, even as Yuugi lagged behind in puzzlement. He couldn't see much of anything around him, it was so dark. She was the only light in the area, practically glowing all of her own accord. "Every Gifted in this world has a symbol pendant. It is like their seal, and a type of guardian for them when things become hard. If your heart is corrupted by your power, you pendant will refuse to work for you. But if your heart remains good, no matter how much trouble you find yourself in, you will be saved from certain death. This pedant will also enhance your powers on a continual basis, and make sure that nothing goes out of control. Before these things started to appear, many a Gifted went rogue and had no control over it."

Yuugi swallowed. "That's comforting."

The Priestess turned and continued to walk, and suddenly Yuugi could just make out another door in front of them. She turned and looked at him. "Walk up to the door. This is the element of water. If it reacts to you and opens, then this is the Gift that you have been given."

Yuugi walked up to it, unable to make out the symbol that locked the doors closed. It remained quiet and still.

"Unreactive. We move on."

She turned around and walked in another direction, but Yuugi was officially lost. "This is all security measures to make sure that nobody breaks in and steals, isn't it?"

"That's right. Those dragons weren't the only creatures hiding in this area. Don't ever get any ideas. Most corpses don't even make it past the first doors." She turned and headed down another area. Stopping, she stood next to another door. "Fire."

Again, Yuugi walked up to it, and again, he received no response.

They went through the water and the fire, air and earth and some more bizarre ones that Yuugi wouldn't have considered before such as dreams and even healing.

He was getting worried. So far, no responses. Maybe there was a mistake. Maybe he really didn't belong here.

But the Priestess didn't seem perturbed. She just kept on walking.

Yuugi stopped when two forces he couldn't see tugged on either side of him. It was a little painful, a little ticklish, and very disconcerting. It was like someone was playing a tug of war game with him against another person.

The Headmistress stopped and looked back at him, seeing him rooted to the spot. She looked to either side, seeing two symbols lighting up. "By the Goddesses...I never dreamed. A double gifted!" She laughed, pushing him in one direction to his left. "Come on, we have two halls to tour. So very rare, indeed. No wonder those shadows sucked you up so quickly..."

Yuugi had to shield his eyes as the door they were coming up to glimmered and gleamed. "The sorcery of light," the Priestess replied. "Impressive. So very impressive."

"Why's that," Yuugi asked curiously.

"Well, it seems that you are a mage who's magick is mostly around light. Light is not really considered an element all of it's own, simply because you have to be a mage in order to manipulate light. But it is a specialty that very few are Gifted with. However, your other Gift is that of shadows and chaos, and the two almost always conflict....so rare indeed..."

The hall they were walking down was littered with pendant hanging on little hooks. All of them were dull and lifeless, but for one sitting way down the isle, practically hidden from view. The Priestess picked it up and handed it to Yuugi. The teen could see that it was the symbol of a crescent moon with a pentagram entwined within it. In the center was a beautiful, star-shaped moonstone that had eight points. Yuugi put it on, feeling a warmth spread through his limbs. If felt good to wear it.

"How do you feel?"

"Better. Just a little lighter, and certainly not as cold. I wish I had owned this sooner."

She nodded. "Good." She turned around and started to walk out. Yuugi rushed to catch up. She sure didn't dawdle.

They headed towards the other door, and Yuugi knew that this one was the hall of the shadows. The doors opened immediately for them, and Yuugi felt that tug stronger than before.

The Priestess brought up a pendant that was glowing with crimson and bright green and royal purple shadows dancing around it.

It was the design of an eye. It was carved out of...gold? No, it was too pale to be gold. No, Yuugi knew what it was carved out of. Electrum. An alloy of gold and silver. Yuugi put it on, feeling even better than before.

"Now how do you feel?"

"More secure, and somehow more protected than before." He held it close. "I _really_ wish I had this sooner."

The priestess looked at him pointedly. "Just what were you running from before those shadows pulled you here?"

Yuugi shivered, suddenly remembering Jou and those thugs. What would happen to him now? "Certain death, and some blades that made me need a tetanus shot just looking at them."

She nodded. "I see."

Oh, no she didn't. "They wanted to kill me because my roommate owed them money, but if they killed him they wouldn't get their payment, but if they killed me, his only friend, it would let him know they meant business."

"I see."

He looked up at her defiantly. "I didn't come from a very nice place. I'm not expecting any better until I see it. So far, I've seen nothing but a really wonderful place, but I don't want to be heartbroken when the bottom of my world falls out."

"That's quite understandable, but you have to remember. Don't ever close yourself off from all people here. You're going to have a lot of problems. If ever you have any problems, don't hesitate to come and talk to me. I didn't get this job by bluffing and bullying my way to the top. For the past three thousand years, this position and that of the current ruler has been held by the most powerful individuals in the country. You have to be able to subdue a monster when teaching Gifts such as these. Otherwise, your pupil might surpass you and usurp your rule. Your law. Things are different when politics no matter rely on golden tongues and money."

Yuugi nodded. She was a little arrogant for a reason. She had a good right to be. "Let's go, Yuugi." He nodded again, following her out of those dark corridors. "Ryou, primarily a healer but also a light user, will show you to your room."

"Um," Yuugi began, "how am I to pay for all of this? Surely this school costs some money."

"After your training is over, your will send a quarter of your pay to this school for two years after you've found a suitable job. There is always work for mages, and you will most likely be prized as a guardian of some sorts with your abilities. Healing and Chaos, what a better combination..."

Yuugi rolled the response around in his head. "All light users can heal, can't they?"

"That's right."

xxx


	2. Red Rain

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi sat in his Magick's History class, listening intently as the teacher stood in the front of the class, as mysterious as usual. There were so many anomalies and strange events that occurred in this country's past, it wasn't even funny. It was one of the classes that Yuugi looked forward to most.

He wondered what the teacher was going to reveal to them that day.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Miss. Lapis," everyone replied in unison. Miss Lapis was an interesting individual. She was, according to popular rumor, a werewolf slash vampire all rolled into one. Unlike the stereotype that Yuugi was familiar with, however, werewolves could change shape at will, and were not violent by nature. Their human form just had an uncanny ability to growl surprisingly well.

"There is an old legend I would like to introduce to all of you today."

Silence. She sure was one for drama.

"As most of you know, wings do not exist on any human like creature that we know of today. It is, for the most part, biologically impossible. However, there is the old stories of the Assai."

Some of the people in the class sat with rapt attention now, looking enthralled.

"What do most of you know about these kind of creatures?"

A girl three desks up from Yuugi raised her hand excitedly. "Oh, oh!" she cried. "I know! The old stories tell of how wretched some of them were! Humans were direly jealous of their wings, and would hunt them down and trap them, cutting off their wings and selling them for a high price. The Assai turned warrior-like and went on revenge killing sprees. Eventually, they were all killed off, and those who did live hid their wings and assimilated themselves into society."

The teacher nodded her approval. "That is, in short, the most correct history we know of them. Does anyone know where they came from?"

More silence. Apparently, no one knew.

"Then here is some news for you. _Assai_ generally translates into 'the sacred moon.' Therefore, we can presume that these creatures indeed came from the ruins that have been found on the silver moon in the night sky."

Yuugi found himself oh-ing. Everyone talked vehemently about those ruins. Old myths and legends fascinated people here. They wanted to know everything about their past, and these ruins were some of the only ones so far unidentified to any specific group or species.

Yuugi was even more astounded to see that the only moon in the sky actually _shimmered_ silver at night.

"It is also said," Miss Lapis continued, "that the Moon Goddess created the Assai in her own image."

Jaws all around the room went slack. Yuugi was also learning about the resident religion here. Apparently, all of those statues he saw were in fact of the Thirteen Guardians, all goddesses from the different planets and in fact a star close to their solar system. Nine planets, which was a number Yuugi was familiar with, and one moon, one sun, one star, and one daughter of one of the Goddesses.

The three most revered Guardians were that of the Moon Goddess, the Sun Goddess, and the Star Goddess, the three lights of their universe.

That close star in the night sky was very bright. It put Earth's north star to shame every night. When the moon wasn't full, it was the brightest thing in the sky.

"It is even said that all Assai were in fact descendants of the Moon Goddess. However, we don't have any proof for this claim."

That didn't matter. It was mentioned, therefore at least some part of it had to be true.

The teacher began to hand out some parchment sheets to the class, filled with a tiny scrawl. "I have a handout for you, and a large chart I will show you up front of how it is thought these wings might have looked on the Assai."

Yuugi was handed a stack from the boy in front of him, took his piece, and handed the rest back. He was amazed at the picture before him. It showed some transparent views of the human body, except there were the largest wings possible extending from the back. Muscle masses were shown wrapping around the extra bone structures jutting out from either side of the spine, just inside of the shoulder blades. He read one of the little notes on the page. _It is said that, when stretched, the wings were exactly three times longer than the creature was tall. The wings extended one full body length above their body, and therefore doubled back until they touched the ground another two body lengths. _

Wow. Those were some very large wings. Yuugi raised his hand.

"What is it, Motou?"

"Well, wouldn't wings that large be rather heavy for flight?"

"They were large, yes, but the bones were hollow much like a birds' bones. It was true in more than just the bones of the wing, too. The entire skeletal structure of an Assai was hollow."

"Does that mean that they had a smaller amount of blood production?"

"Very good, Motou. That is true. In all mammal creatures the blood is made in the marrow of the bones, but since the amount of marrow inside an Assai was reduced by nearly three quarters, the amount of blood the body had was indeed smaller, therefore causing them to be much lighter still. Hence, flight was possible."

Cool.

"Does anyone know how long they've been extinct?"

A boy to Yuugi's right raised his hand. "About seven thousand years."

"Correct. Seven thousand years. In that time, there has not been another creature in recorded history that has walked this earth like a human that bore wings."

_xxx_

Yuugi walked out of his History class, surprised with the new information. How strange. With how much magic that was floating around here, no one had any kind of wings that were real. The only thing that even resembled wings happened when a mage created an illusion around themselves, and Yuugi had not yet learned how to do that.

"That was some pretty amazing stuff," the girl next to him commented. Yuugi noted her short brown hair and deep blue eyes, recognizing her as a girl named Anzu, an air element user.

"I agree. This world just keeps on amazing me."

She looked at him kindly. "You're a drop in, aren't you?"

Yuugi had learned that this was the general term used for someone who was sucked in to their world by magick or a portal. "Sure am," he replied.

"My crazy uncle claimed to be an Assai," she remarked. "But he said his wings had been torn off. No one in the family believed him, but he sure had some wild stories about flight." She shrugged. "But even my mum said that when the Goddesses died so did their high lineage."

This world sure was different. Yuugi was amazed every time he turned around. According to the religion, the First Twelve Goddesses were born from the planet, moon, or star they came from. The Moon Goddess, also known as Tranquility, was the only one to bear a child, the Thirteenth Goddess, and it was through this goddess that the royal line of Sekeshan rulers descended from. Supposedly, even the Prince Atemu was of this line, but it was over nine thousand years ago when the throne had first been erected.

The Goddesses were said to have lived a thousand years before they finally left their 'mortal' bodies and ascended to the heavens. But the Assai, supposedly created directly by the Goddesses from the clay of the moon, died out when their creators did.

Yuugi couldn't believe that these tales had stayed in tact for so long.

"It sure would be neat to see one, though."

Anzu smiled brightly in agreement. "Hey, want to go and get some lunch with me? I know a great way to sneak into the kitchens. They hide all of the good teas and scones in there."

"I'd love to," he stated, feeling his stomach grumble loudly.

"Hey Motou!"

Yuugi stopped, snarling where he stood. It seemed that even this world had its own set of bullies, and for some reason he was always a magnet for them. _Do I just have this big sign painted on my forehead? Village idiot here, come and release some steam!! _"Can I help you," he asked dryly.

"Hey, we heard you're a double gifted, eh? A pretty special pupil of the Priestess." The tall fire user laughed hard, his cronies joining in the teasing.

"Stuff it, sulfur breath."

The guy put his hands up in mock defense. "Wow, easy their tiger. Or perhaps we should say _Assai Warrior._ Oooooh." He laughed again.

Yuugi's lip curled up in a snarl. "What's the matter, mutt, jealous?"

The laughter stopped. The group of bullies, about four in all, started to crack their knuckles. "You'll pay for that, runt."

Yuugi stood his ground, ignoring as Anzu tugged on his sleeve. "Come on," she whispered. "Just ignore them."

"If you ignore bullies like these they'll do nothing but continue to harass." Yuugi stated. He ought to know, for he certainly had a lot of experience in the matter.

Some bullies got bored. Some got obsessed. These were the latter.

Yuugi watched as the upperclassmen started to glow a faint reddish orange. They were fire users, and they'd been in school long enough to develop their skills to a formidable level. Yuugi was still clueless how to tap into his powers.

Anzu started to get nervous. Air did little good against fire but to fan the flames. If Yuugi knew how to use shadows, he could snuff out the heat quickly and effectively, but he was still a novice, barely noteworthy of even lowly trickery. He had eight years of schooling ahead of him, and the bullies had six years up on him. They were almost to the master level.

Three teachers walked down the hall, conversing with one another. Immediately, the glow of flames died down, and the one to start the teasing, Hanabi, Yuugi believed was his name, glared daggers in his direction. "We'll settle this later, twerp."

And with that they were gone.

_xxx_

Yuugi sat on the window seat in his room, starring out the window. It was raining again. He couldn't help it, he lowered his head and scratched behind his ear.

It wasn't the act of scratching that made him feel somewhat better. No, he believed it was the ability to curl up and look like he had a good purpose for doing so. The scratching started when people started asking him why he was in a fetal position all of the time.

He always hated it when it rained. It seemed something bad always happened. He hadn't always had these views. He used to like the rain. He would sit out in it for hours at a time in the summer.

But when he was six, and the rains came, and it washed away the blood of his murdered parent's he was never really the same since. And ever since then, whenever it rained, he was forced out into it to hide from a threat, or run from it.

....or kill it.

He curled up tighter.

Nothing should happen to him right now. He knew he would be safe so long as he was here. The Headmistress swore to never let anything happen to him. As long as he was a student here, he was under her protection.

It was going to take a long time to get the paranoia out of his head.

A spark of light outside caught Yuugi's vision. The trees seemed to be rustling about in a way that did not seem very tree-like, even in the wind.

His eyes widened when he heard a cry. He knew, the rain brought trouble. But, he couldn't help that damned good streak his parent's instilled in him at such an early age. He put on a jacket, bundled up, and ran out to see if he could help.

The faculty didn't care if the students left. It was a lot like colleges back in Domino. You're here because you want to be here. If you don't then leave. We won't bother with you, you can live a poor, meager life. It's your own undoing. So Yuugi had no worries about sneaking out as he walked down the halls, shadows hiding in the many corners.

The alcoves with the statues were never dark, though. Those goddesses always gleamed with a light of their own, and Yuugi knew that it wasn't from artificial lighting behind them. It was from the glow within the stone itself.

He was hit with a warm blast of rain as he opened the main front door. Thank the goddesses it was summer here in Sekesha.

But it sure didn't stop it from being dark. Yuugi ran out into the night looking for another spark of light, or a cry, or something to let him know where he was heading. He turned to his left and ran down towards the trees, peering through the darkness to see if he could spot anything other than rain and swaying leaves.

"Hey, Motou! What are you up to?"

Gods, why did he ever leave his room?

"What are you doing out here, twerp? Looking for the beating you missed earlier?"

Yuugi spun around to look at the bullies that had harassed him earlier. "What are a bunch of pyros such as yourselves doing out in the middle of a rain storm," he quipped.

"Practice, stupid. If we can put up with water, we can do just about anything."

_Shows how much you know,_ Yuugi thought. He knew that aside from water, shadows were one of the fire element's greatest weaknesses. Shadows snuffed. Hard.

Yuugi began to back up a bit, no longer aware of just how wet he was getting, as the four of them started to walk closer.

"You're a little over due for a beating, drop in. We'll show you just what training to be a Gifted is all about."

Before Yuugi could react, a tongue of flames grabbed the collar of his coat, and drug him forward. "We heard you were a Double Gifted," his captor hissed, smiling. "Do you have any idea just how rare that is? No, of course you don't, you're a meager little drop in. Why would a runt like you get something that those born here can't get? Hm? Tell me!" He shook Yuugi vigorously.

"How the hell should I know," Yuugi screeched back.

"Why don't we find out if it's true," someone behind him growled. Yuugi's eyes grew wide when they began to rip off his jacket and his shirt, exposing his delicate pale skin to the blowing summer storm.

"I don't believe it," Hanabi seethed. "Shadow _and_ light? You bitch!" He threw Yuugi to the ground hard, causing him to become soaked in mud. Bands of hot fire wrapped around Yuugi's neck and wrists, pulled him up until his chest was exposed, and locked him in place. He tried not to cry out as it stung his skin, but it wasn't working very well.

"Let's give you a little insight about this world, Motou. Here, pain is weakness leaving the body. You have to go through a lot of it in order to attain Adept levels. Why don't we give you a little head start?"

Yuugi's eyes grew wide in fear when a foot was planted on the middle of his back, and two hands grabbed at the skin over his shoulder blades, and pulled.

Hard.

Yuugi screamed. Tears streamed down his face as those finger nails dug into his skin, feeling the warm liquid of his blood streaming down his sides.

One of the bullies got in front of him, and decided to start pummeling his chest with small balls of fire. "I'll get those pendants off of you yet," he yelled.

This was bad. He couldn't stop screaming. It felt like white hot agony and pain and anger shooting through his chest.

The fire users watched, laughing, as their prey was being pushed through so much pain. This was how to have fun.

_xxx_

The dark figure watched the torture take place from the shadows of the many trees on the compound, anger filling his gut and red clouding his vision.

Bastards. They would pay.

He began to run towards them, watching as the skin of the young boy was pulled taught, nearing the tearing point. Blood was covering the bully's hands at the moment, but all he could do was smile.

He'd pay.

But the figure found himself stopping part way as the skin on the boy's back finally did tear off, and what emerged from him threw the bully off balance and onto his rump in the mud.

A blood curdling scream erupted from the boy's throat.

Impossible. It couldn't be. It couldn't exist.

Blood at first. It was a shower of blood shooting out of his back. But slowly, as that shower grew ever larger in size, it wasn't going down. The rain began to beat away some of the red, revealing a little bit of white beneath.

Yuugi's new wings hovered for a moment, shuddering with the strain. In a flash, they crippled in on themselves, blocking the rest of the boy from view. Yuugi screamed again.

No. This was horrible. _I'll kill them! All of them!_

The dark figure ran towards the group again at full speed. They were too shocked, looking at what they had just done, that they didn't even have time to move as dark, glimmering shadows suddenly wrapped painfully around them, throwing them against the stone walls of the compound and binding them in place. They looked on in fear as a figure garbed all in black snarled at them, shadows dancing around him. "Do you know what you've done? Do you have any idea? Idiots! You'll hang for this if I don't kill you first tonight!" A blade of shadows extended from one hand. They waited for the blow.

"No!"

It was almost a relief to see the Priestess running up towards them, but their stomachs sank even lower now. She'd just torture them slowly first. "Don't kill them! Leave the wretches to me. Take him to the Healing Ward. Quickly!"

The figure looked over. Yuugi was sobbing miserably on the ground. Running over, he ran to the front of the boy, picking him up carefully. Every time a feather was moved, Yuugi cried and sobbed, and shuttered with pain. "It hurts," he cried, his voice hoarse.

"I know," the figure soothed. "Come. We must get you inside and get your wings cleaned. Now."

Yuugi tried not to cry as he was ran inside, but again, he failed at that, too. "What happened," he cried. "What's going on?"

He didn't receive much of an answer. Just more pain. So much so, in fact, that he couldn't even see properly.

_xxx_

The priestess looked at the four in front of her, angrier than she could ever remember being. "What you have done is unforgivable. Do you have any idea what has just happened?"

Silence.

"Follow me."

They didn't have much of a choice. They were rather dragged behind her, still confined in what that dark figure had done to them.

"I don't care what you think he is, or what you've found, what is important is that those wings were not meant to come out yet. Right now, they are as tender and soft as a newborn's skull. If we don't get the blood off of them, they will dry in place, and cause them to be crippled as they mature. His muscles are extremely strained, and any movement is a new torture session for him. And this is a pain that a healer won't be able to block."

They went inside, the big doors closing harshly and ominously behind them. Screams were emanating from somewhere a few floors up.

"I hope you're happy with yourselves. You'll be going before a court in a few weeks, as well. I'm sure the Prince will be happy to see to it justice is served." She turned angry silver eyes on them. It was rumored that her eyes turned silver when she was very angry. This was the proof.

Yuugi kept screaming upstairs.

_xxx_


	3. Wingspan

**Dripping Wings**

He felt like he was floating. He couldn't really see anything, nor hear that well. Perhaps he had fallen asleep a long time ago, or perhaps it was just a few moments ago.

He did remember a lot of pain, that now only seemed like a far distant memory. And he had this vague feeling that he should be angry about something...or perhaps he was supposed to be depressed right now...

He felt strange. And the only other thing he was able to register was something soft and warm was resting in his hand. It was a strange comfort, so he squeezed it, unable to register how hard he was squeezing.

He tried to groan a little bit, and realized that his throat was raw and swollen. Perhaps he ought to not do that again.

"_He's.....ing....I'm going to...." _

He couldn't hear everything. He had a strange idea that the voice was right next to him, but it could have been a thousand miles away for all he knew.

"_Can't let....him....before the...."_

He tried to open his eyes, seeing only a flash of crimson. Groaning, he shut his eyes closed again. He wished he'd quite tumbling, for he felt dizzy enough at the moment. There was no reason to make it worse.

He squeezed again at whatever it was in his hand. It was warm, and it seemed to send him right back to sleep again.

_xxx_

Yuugi took a deep breath before he opened up his eyes fully, blinking as his pupils tried to adjust to the bright white smashed against his cheek.

He was sleeping on his stomach on a bed. His head was turned to his right, and sitting in a chair next to him was none other that the Headmistress, curled up and reading a book. She felt his eyes on her and looked over, her eyes bright and clear. "Good afternoon."

"Noon," Yuugi asked. His throat didn't seem to hurt that much anymore. "How long have I been out?"

"About three days." She placed a white ribbon on her page, closed the book, and set it down on the bed to her left. "You're really lucky, you know. We almost lost you."

"Really," he asked. "How?"

"Blood loss. Not to mention that your body went in to shock. Your organs began to shut down one by one."

Yuugi was confused. "Why?"

"It was a huge trauma for you! Others who have gone through the same thing have died, not to mention be permanently crippled."

Yuugi looked at his hand, seeing burn marks on his wrist. "I still don't understand how that could cripple me. What happened?"

The Headmistress sighed. "Don't sit up, but just look to your right, Yuugi, as far back as you can."

The teen complied, looking behind him.

Hell. No.

"It can't be," he whispered. "How? I'm not even _from_ here..."

He saw a large wing extended across what must have been five twin sized beds, the feathers stretched out for drying. He moved his shoulder blade, feeling something there that had never been there before.

"You have a thirty three foot wingspan, Yuugi."

"Oh my god," he whispered to himself. "But....why can't I get up," he asked.

She shrugged. "Go ahead and try."

Yuugi pushed against the bed with both his hands, feeling so much more weight on his back dragging him down. He cried out when a harsh pain shot through him, and he fell back to the pillow again.

"They're still to tender to move yet. It will be three to four weeks before they're strong enough to allow you movement."

"I have to stay in here for at least three weeks?"

"I'm afraid so."

Yuugi sighed defeated. He was really going to fall behind in school. "What am I," he asked.

"We don't know for sure. Perhaps you really are an Assai, but like you said, you're not from here. We have some researchers looking through the palace archives now." She paused, taking a sip of tea. "Your attackers are going before the Royal Court tomorrow. The Prince will decide what to do with them."

Yuugi was still in shock. "How is it what they did to me triggered this to happen?"

"Trauma on the body, strain, and repeated magickal attacks on your chest. It forced your wings to emerge prematurely. You're just lucky they came out all of the way. Had they not, it just might have killed you trying to force them the rest of the way." She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry this happened to you. Those four fire Gifted have been causing trouble for years now. I just whish the last straw didn't have to land on you."

Yuugi snorted. "It's not your fault. I should have stayed in my room. But I saw that strange flash of light outside, and swore that I heard someone yell...I was worried if someone was in trouble....I should have known." Hemissed the flash of emotion in the Priestess's clear blue eyes, so he wasn't able to make out what it meant.

"Well, now that you're up, there are some people who've been waiting to see you." She stood and somehow levitated herself over Yuugi's wing, then stepped gracefully back down on the stone floor.

"There is? Who?"

"Just some friends." She disappeared behind a door, and in her place stepped out two people. Yuugi heard them before he saw them.

"Yuugi? You're awake? Gosh, are you okay??"

Two heads of white and brown hair crawled under his wing between the beds, and in front of him brown and blue eyes starred back.

"Ryou! Anzu! You're here?"

"Of course were are, silly," the girl chided.

"We've been worried sick about you," Ryou replied, taking a seat in the armchair. "They say the whole compound heard your screaming a few nights ago."

Yuugi's face fell. "Oh, splendid."

Anzu looked at him filled with worry. "The whole place has been in an uproar. The Prince was even here the other day, storming around looking for the four who attacked you. All of Sekesha wants to see you."

Yuugi's face paled. "You're kidding."

Ryou shook his head. "Peasants and nobles alike have been sending you get well cards and candy and asking if you really are an Assai. The Priestess has refused to let any of that stuff in here until you can actually get up, though. She said you shouldn't have to stress over it at the moment."

Yuugi scratched behind his ear. Damn that habit. "She's right about the stressing. That's exactly what I'd do. I don't want to be a pitied national name. Or a national hero for that matter. I just want to get my schooling done. Besides, I can't be part of an extinct race. I'm a freaking drop in!"

Anzu shrugged, daring a glance at the wing she sat in front of. "Assai or not, you're still a world-wide phenomenon. You're not supposed to exist. And it's more than that, too. Somehow, the word got out of just _how_ your wings came out. People want to see some blood shed for that. Bullying is not taken very lightly here, especially since it's so easy for some magi to go out of control. And the Goddesses do not go easy on those who go against their Law of Peace."

Yuugi asked something that had been eating at him ever since he landed in the Palace. "Your religion is so old. Do the Goddess actually give proof of their existence?"

Ryou laughed. "Of course they do! The war Goddess Ahna always appears before her army as they're lined up on the battle field. Eternity, the sun Goddess, rises in the shrines every sunrise and blesses the priestesses there. The statues of Tranquility glow whenever there is a mother near it giving birth."

Yuugi whistled. "That's amazing."

"The Goddess Kyana appeared at my father's funeral," Anzu stated. "She blessed the family with the air Gift. That's the only reason I'm here. We used to be farmers."

"Then....maybe I wasn't born with these wings," Yuugi stated. "Maybe a goddess put them there."

Both Anzu and Ryou shook their heads. "That wouldn't happen," Ryou replied. "The Assai were to sacred for them. The only thing they would do is make sure you didn't die."

_That could explain how I made it,_ Yuugi thought. _Maybe that's why I'm still alive._

"That doesn't mean that Goddesses appear often," Ryou spoke up. "Only rarely. They're main connection with us is the statues. We don't make those glow, the Goddesses do. And if the people who own a statue has defiled the goddesses name, the statue will no longer glow for them."

"Certainly a good incentive to not act up," Yuugi replied. "I just sure hope they have a good sense of humor."

"From what I've heard," Ryou replied, "one of the best."

Yuugi's eyes started to droop. He was getting tired again. Good timing, too, for the Headmistress walked back in and began to shoo out the two who had dropped by to say hello. Yuugi gave a weak smile as they said their goodbyes and left.

_xxx _

Yuugi woke up again, noting the lighting in the room was much dimmer than last time. The Priestess was sitting next to him again, reading once more. "Good evening," she replied without looking up.

"How long was I out this time," he asked.

"Another day."

"Ah. Better than three."

She put her ribbon in place and set her book down. "You are getting better. Your healing sessions are much shorter now, and fewer between."

"Sessions," he asked.

"We have powerful healers here, myself included. We can't let your muscles deteriorate because of a lack of use."

"Hm." Yuugi's stomach growled viciously. "I'm really hungry."

"Would you like some soup?"

He thought for a moment. "Why does it feel like I've been fed broth for a long time?"

She laughed a little. "Because aside from water, it's the only thing we can get down your throat without choking you. You've refused to wake up for us." A bowl of soup drifted her way, floating on a cloud of silver dust. "But this is a thick noodle soup. Some more substance for you. You should be able to sit up tomorrow, so you'll be able to eat this tonight."

Yuugi nodded. "That will do." He was able to marginally roll onto his side and push his head up, gratefully taking the offered bowl and drinking from it. A chunk of carrot and a noodle made it to his taste buds, and like all other food here, it was some of the best stuff he'd ever eaten.

"The trial is over," she said out of nowhere.

"The trial," Yuugi asked. His brain finally kicked in. "Oh, right, that one....how did it go?"

"Ugly."

Yuugi frowned. "That can't be good."

"People were furious when the Prince only sent them into exile."

Yuugi swallowed some more soup. "They were?"

"Of course, they did have their pendants stripped from them. And they were sent to the planet Ahna, of the war Goddess. It's a desert planet with only thieves and murderers there. They won't last long."

Yuugi tried to down the last of his food. "Do you think they deserved it?"

"They should have hanged," she snapped, not looking at him. Yuugi could sense her rage was placed elsewhere, not with him. "But perhaps death would have been too kind for them. But I can tell you, that by the time that gabble fell the statues were all glowing. The Goddesses, all of them, came down upon the four in a fury and swept them away. Instead of allowing us to fulfill their punishment, they couldn't wait to get them off this planet." She shook her head, taking Yuugi's empty bowl away before he could even try to hand it back. Her silvery-white hair glimmered in the candle light. "Get some sleep, Yuugi. You'll have to wake up tomorrow and get some exercise."

Yuugi laid back down again, switching his head. His neck was getting sore.

"Sweet dreams."

_xxx_

Yuugi woke up once more, but this time there was a bright light spilling in through the windows. He registered a warm hand resting in his own, and as he opened his eyes, he saw dusky hands holding his fingers and resting gently over his burn marks.

"Atemu," he asked.

The Prince had been sleeping in the armchair that was next to him, his head dropping off to his side as his chest rose and fell with his breaths. Crimson eyes blinked open at the mention of his name. Yawning, he smiled, not moving his hands from their resting spot. "Good morning, Yuugi. I wasn't expecting you up for another couple of hours."

Yuugi looked up at him curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come and say hi. My entire country is in love with you, I figured I'd better find out why." His smile was warm, but Yuugi just knew that wasn't the only reason.

"And you show up before I'm even awake? Come on, I know there's something else."

Atemu yawned again, stretching one of his legs he had curled up beneath him. "Well, you're right. There's another reason I'm here. I was told you'd be able to move today."

"Yes..."

"Well, that also means that it's time to start your physical therapy."

"Therapy," Yuugi asked. "And what does that have to do with you?"

The Prince frowned. "You're not happy to see me?"

Yuugi shook his head no. "No, of course I am! I'm just...shocked. Why would royalty pay such attention to me?"

"Yuugi, apparently you don't realize the magnitude of your situation."

"It's a little hard to grasp, yes. But that still doesn't explain it."

"Yuugi," Atemu started, "everyone in this country would love to have a set of wings. Not because of the wings themselves, but what is put behind those wings. You practically _are_ royalty. Even if you're not really an Assai, people see you as one, and the Assai are the pride and joy of the Goddesses. There were a lot of families ignored by the goddesses when the Assai died out. To be one now is would be considered being a deity in itself. Which means that you can't even go out in public without being followed and pursued. You have to learn how to hide your wings, and that could take a while."

Yuugi sighed. Atemu was still holding his hand. "What do I do?"

"You start your therapy," the Prince replied. "And I'll be heading it."

"You," Yuugi asked. "Why?"

"You're not very observant, are you," he was asked. One dark hand was removed from Yuugi's, and tugged at something that was a pale gold. Yuugi couldn't believe his eyes.

Pale gold wings sat almost transparent in the early morning sunlight, curled up behind Prince Atemu's back. Blood red eyes danced with mirth in a smiling face. "I'm royalty, Yuugi. And the royal family did indeed descend from the Thirteenth Goddess. And all of the Goddesses had wings. Mine are a golden color, because of my faint relation to the Sun Goddess. If you're an Assai, you're practically a cousin of mine, eighty thousand times removed." The dusky hand went back to it's resting place on Yuugi's wrist.

"Why wasn't anyone ever told of the royalty having wings?"

"Because of what happened to the Assai. We couldn't risk our safety." He looked at Yuugi pointedly. "Because of how angry our deities were over your ordeal, I'm willing to be that you _are_ an Assai, and I have a strong feeling that your parents probably fled to your world because of their wings, and tried to keep you a secret as well. It's understandable that our planet would drag you back here."

Yuugi sat up part way, curled in on himself, and scratched behind his ear. "Oh, this is going to take a lot of getting used to."

_xxx_


	4. Tangled Threads

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi looked on as Atemu stood up, leaned against the bed, and rested one hip on it. "I know you won't be able to do much today, so all we're going to start out with is sitting up. Are you ready?"

The teen sighed. "No, but I might as well try."

The Prince chuckled. "That's the spirit. Now, I want you to put your hands on my forearm. Should you start to fall, I'll be able to catch you quickly." Yuugi complied, pushing his chest off the bed as he rested on his elbows. The Prince's skin was warm under his touch, and he could smell a dark musk that lingered in his nose. The further he got up, the more Atemu was able to sit on the bed. Soon, there wouldn't be any place for Yuugi to fall but into his arms.

Yuugi started to break out in a sweat as he pushed against his support to try and sit up. "Gahh..." He squeezed his eyes closed as his muscles began to constrict on him. "It hurts..."

"Easy," Atemu stated. "Start bending your knees so you can draw your legs up beneath you. It will making it easier. Right now, you're fighting your own weight."

Yuugi did as he was told. He actually began to feel his head become vertical, until his arms gave out, and he fell right into the Prince's chest. Boy, did he smell good. What was the cologne he had on?

Or was it even cologne?

Yuugi groaned, his muscles feeling weak and useless. "Owe..." he muttered.

"Does it feel like you don't have much control over your muscles at the moment," he was asked.

Yuugi nodded, grateful when he was pushed upright the rest of the way. For the first time, he was actually able to look around the room he was in. It looked much like the rest of the compound, with the gothic structured pillars fanning out into the ceiling, tall windows so old they had a tint of yellow. He also saw for the first time that he had on a pair of white pants, similar to scrubs worn in hospitals, except for the fact they felt so smooth, so lightweight, and so fine, it just might have been possible to pull the whole garment through the hole of a needle. "It feels like my whole body has gone to sleep, and I can't get it to wake up."

"In a sense, it has. But unlike when you sit on your foot for too long and it starts to tingle, this is more like a deep sleep, and the only way to wake it up is by exercise." Atemu held him at arm's length.

Yuugi looked at him and pouted. "You know you're the one who's mainly holding me up. I'd fall flat on my face right now if you weren't."

The Prince laughed. "I know, but it's good for you to be up. Why don't you try taking a look at your wings? You haven't truly been able to see them yet."

The teen turned his head to the side, seeing the limp and lifeless new appendage draped across the many beds. He knew it would probably hurt, but he simply couldn't help it. Painfully raising a hand up to a mass of downy feathers, he touched to see how soft they were.

Whatever clouds felt like, he knew he put them to shame. And faintly, in the glimmer of the early morning sunrise, he could see a shimmer of silver lining under his wing. White on top, silver beneath. _Even if those clouds above don't have a silver lining....I do._ He decided to stop when moving a larger feather caused him to wince.

"They are pretty, Yuugi. You should be proud."

Yuugi scowled. "No I shouldn't. These things are going to be a burden for me from now on. Continually trying to hide them, attempting to hide from prying looks and curious questions.... does the country know what I look like yet? Am I going to be hounded for the rest of my life because of these?"

The Prince, for once, gave him a sad look. "Most everyone in the country knows what I look like. It has been said that you resemble me in an uncanny way. If you play your cards right, and if you know how to handle those awkward situations when they arise, then it won't be as much of a bother as you might think. Remember, Yuugi; out of sight, out of mind. If you hide something from the public eye long enough, especially something they've never seen, they won't remember you so readily. They might even forget. Life catches up with people eventually. As long as you don't go seeking the fame, you can find ways to avoid it."

Yuugi rubbed his forehead, and out of force off habit found his fingers wandering to his hairline and behind his ear. "I sure hope you're right. For my own sanity."

The Prince chuckled. "Well, since you've worked so hard for today, you can have a treat."

"And what's that," Yuugi asked.

Atemu held his hand out to a table that was towards the front of the room, and motioned his finger as though he were summoning someone from across the room. Yuugi turned his head as far as he could, finally able to see a bright red fruit drifting over on a silver cloud of dust. "You have got to teach me how to do that," Yuugi complained. "I had an itch on my thigh the other night, and for the life of me I couldn't reach it. I _know_ I saw a backscratcher hanging on the wall behind me when I first got a tour of this place. I really could have used it."

The Prince laughed, allowing Yuugi to fall back against him and handing him the fruit. "I'm not allowed to teach you any new magick tricks yet, you're too weak. Maybe next week."

Yuugi pouted again, running his fingers over the smooth skin of the fruit. It was shaped similar to a pear, with a bright purple leaf on top. "So what is this, anyway?"

"This is fruit called dragon's blood. Dragons eat these like crazy when spring time rolls around. It's the only fruit that grows all winter long."

Yuugi took a bite, intrigued. The inside was a deep purple in color, with specks of lime green here and there. It was a bright citrus taste, perhaps a cross between a...a... Yuugi grinned. "I know what this tastes like."

"What's that," Atemu asked.

"Like a cross between an orange and a seven up."

He got a strange look. "And those would be...?"

It was Yuugi's turn to laugh. "Never mind. You'd have to try it yourself someday." He finished the fruit, leaving only the large seed that was in the center and the stem and leaf on top.

Atemu shifted position, gently placing the teen back down on the bed again. "You should get some more rest, because tomorrow you're going to try and stand up."

"Oh, ambitious," he replied, chuckling. "Thank you for the fruit. It was delicious." He heard the flutter of wings as Atemu lifted over his wing and to the other side of the room.

"You're more than welcome."

Suddenly, Yuugi felt weight added to the bed behind him, and heard a bottle cap pop open. "I'm going to put a balm on your back, Yuugi. It will help with muscle strain and speed up your recovery."

"All right." He certainly wasn't going to turn something down that sounded like a massage.

Just as the balm hit his skin and those warm, gentle hand began kneading his sore muscles, he thought back to something that his friend Jou had once said. _Dude, if anyone you don't know ever offers ya a massage, turn 'em down. Ninety five percent of all massages end up in sex. And who knows what they could slip in yer drink then!_

Yuugi, sadly, fell asleep before he could indulge anymore on such thoughts. However, it did leave his unconscious mind to wander...

_xxx_

After three weeks of repeatedly trying to stand, repeatedly trying to move muscles that simply didn't seem to be there, and repeatedly trying to pout his way into some much needed sunshine, he had made little progress in the way of the sunshine factor.

He had been asleep when the talk started, this he knew, and he also had a feeling they hadn't intended to wake him. But what they also didn't know was that when he was healthy he was an instinctually light sleeper. He'd learned to be one at an early age when he found out the boogy man truly did creep around your door at night with a rusty, bloody knife and a masked face.

Atemu was holding his hand again as he slept. He did that a lot. He could also feel the grip was tighter than normal, almost protective in a way.

And he didn't sound too happy.

"Some fresh air would be good for him, you can't deny that."

"Yes, I know. But the risk factors are too high."

Yuugi kept his eyes closed and controlled his breathing. He'd also learned to do that at an early age, too. He found he had an incredible talent; he could hide under blankets and not be noticed, so long as he was still and quiet enough.

"You said when he could walk out of here he could get some sunshine. Why are you keeping him here?"

"Tell me you haven't seen the commoners and magi alike lined up outside these compound walls. Do you really think _that's_ safe? To take him out there?"

"What about the open courtyard in the center of the compound? Why can't you let him go there?"

"Because of the students there. He can't leave until he can hide his wings."

"You know that won't happen for another month or so. It takes a long time to develop that talent."

"Then you'd better start teaching him!"

It grew silent again quickly. Yuugi could feel the tension in the room, he didn't have to see the look on the people's faces. He knew now that the Prince was arguing with the Priestess.

"You're out of line, Headmistress."

"And you're infatuated, Prince."

Yuugi's stomach fell to his knees. Oh, this was getting bad. He'd had a feeling about the Prince since he first met him. It _had_ been possible that the people of this realm had smaller personal space bubbles, but Yuugi highly doubted it.

The Priestess had a lot of balls talking back to royalty, even if she was female.

"I told you of my foresight, Headmistress. I am looking at what is to come, while _you_ are being blinded by fear and control issues."

"I am worried about him! _You,_ however, are worried about what lies between your legs!" Yuugi felt the grip on his hand become tighter. "Damn it, it's _my_ fault he has these wings right now! _I_ was the one he heard on that rainy night! I was stretching my own wings, allowing them to feel the rain and air since no one was supposed to be out, and it drew him out! It's my fault he ran into those fire gifted! His wings should not have come out for another two years, at the minimum!"

"Blood or not, you have no right to speak to the ruler of your country in such a fashion! I don't care what drove him out that night, it wasn't intentional! You didn't do it on purpose! Good goddesses, Aunt Lillian, stop being ridiculous!"

Aha. That explained _her_ wings. She was royalty, too.

"I am sorry that your daughter was killed in this same way, but that doesn't mean it will happen to Yuugi too! At the _very_ least let me take him to the palace gardens. He will be safe there, I promise you."

_Oh, what a tangled web we weave,_ Yuugi thought. Sometimes, it really payed off to be able to feign sleep.

"Alone? No, I don't think that's such a good-"she stopped. Yuugi could here the Prince snarling. "If you're afraid I'll steal his innocense, Lilian, why don't you take him yourself?"

Silence again. Yuugi hoped no blood was going to be shed anytime soon, especially over his sake.

"He's been here three weeks. Why don't you just go straight to the aviary. Give him some first flying lessons."

The grip on his hand loosened. The Prince was holding his hand lovingly again. "I'm glad you see it my way, Headmistress. I'll take him in the morning."

_xxx_

The air was tense that morning as Yuugi awoke. The Prince was still dozing in the armchair next to him, holding his hand like he always did. Yuugi yawned, stretched his muscles, and began to sit up, causing Atemu to wake as well. "Good morning, Yuugi," he yawned. He looked like he'd received little sleep that night, and Yuugi knew exactly why.

"You look tired, Atemu. Rough night?" he asked innocently.

"No, no it was fine."

Liar.

"We're going to the aviary today, Yuugi. You're going to get some of your fist flying lessons."

Yuugi frowned. "Let me guess. Is it enclosed?"

"I'm afraid so. But as a treat, I can take you to the garden area afterwards. The roses smell beautiful this time of the year." _Roses seam to be a universal thing. Always the symbol of love. _Oh, Yuugi had to stop himself. He wondered if this was foreshadowing anything...

Goddesses above, was he actually _anticipating_ something to happen? Did he even want it to? He supposed he ought to give it some thought now, just so that it didn't come as a shock to him later.

And what did that cryptic statement from the night before mean? _I've told you of my foresight, Headmistress..._

"Atemu," Yuugi asked, standing up and doing his routine stretches.

"Yes," the Prince asked, untying a velvet pouch from his belt.

"What is 'foresight?'"

"Hmm? Oh, it's the ability to tell the future."

The teen touched one tip of his wing to the far wall. "How accurate is it?"

"It gives the viewer the ability to see the possible future as events lay right now. Being able to see _which_ future comes about is the real talent."

"Does that mean a lot of magi have foresight?"

"No, it's rather rare."

Yuugi finished, and Atemu held out a hand for him. "Ready?"

"I'm ready."

Yuugi had learned that the large circular room he had first been brought to and transported through was in fact the, with the most original title Yuugi could ever come up with, transport room.

It really didn't sound all that exciting. And for the most part, it wasn't. It was an ability most magi strived for decades for, and when there wasn't the statues of all thirteen goddesses surrounding the magi, it was even harder, even dangerous at times to try.

The two of them headed down there quickly, Yuugi making easy work of the steps. He'd even managed to jump off one of the beds in the healing ward when no one was looking, and only came out of it with a couple of bruises and a satisfactory smile.

Ryou, Anzu, and a boy Yuugi didn't recognize were standing in the hall talking with one another. Anzu looked over at him and smiled, waving her hand. "Yuugi! You're up! How are you?"

Two other heads turned his way, and the teen smiled. "I'm better! You?"

"You missed a good lesson in healing today, Yuugi!" Ryou called. "I can grow bones back together!"

His heart sunk, and the Prince didn't miss the slight frown that momentarily marred his face. Yuugi brightened back up, though. "That's good, Ryou! Keep up the great work!"

He kept waving goodbye until they were out of sight. Oh, how he really wished he hadn't missed any class.

"Don't worry, Yuugi. You'll learn it all."

Yuugi frowned, starting to focus on the knot that had been eating away at his stomach for a while. "Why do I have a feeling that it won't be fast enough?"

Atemu frowned hard. He whispered something to himself, but Yuugi heard what he said. "Probably for the same reasons I do."

_xxx_


	5. Stolen Breaths

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi stood at the entrance of the palace aviary, his jaw nearly unhinged. This place was more than massive, more than huge, it was simply gargantuan. The method used for measurements was not something he was familiar with, but as he sat calculating in his head what the Prince had told him, Yuugi had a pretty good guess at the size of this massive room.

Room. Ha. More like a building.

The ancients had built it, with numerous prayers and helpful hints from the goddesses. It stretched from the far end of the palace out for nearly a mile. The walls were constructed out of solid white and peach marble stone. The walls themselves towered into the air almost three thousand feet. The inside was devoid of anything but a smooth floor of...what had Atemu called it? Nyanta? Yuugi didn't know what it was supposed to be, but he compared it to contained mush. He could walked on it without sinking entirely, but it was obvious this floor was not meant for walking, it was meant for catching falling objects.

Or, more precisely, falling flyers.

And the commoners believed this was what? Some grand creation to show the power of the ruler? With no real purpose in mind but monumental consequence? To be remembered forever?

It was a training room. That's all it was. It was to teach the royalty how to fly, away from eyes that should not see them.

Yuugi was still gaping.

"Impressive, isn't it," Atemu asked next to him. "Higher up, there are ledges to rest on while. Glides are easy, and that's what you'll start with right now. I'll fly you up there because your muscles can't support a flat ground take off yet. They will, though, and with the training program that has been in practice here for eons it won't take much more than a fortnight before you're physically fit."

"Impressive," Yuugi asked. "Good gods, if the builders of Babel could have gotten a hold of the architects for this, there would be eight wonders of the world."

The Prince had learned that the myths of history of Yuugi's old realm were very different from his. He was curious about it, and frequently questioned about the past. Unfortunately for the teen, his old people had a sketchy past, patched together by heresy, gossip and ill placed documents. "What is Babel, Yuugi?"

"There were a group of men who wanted to build a tower that reached up to the heavens. Supposedly, however, God became angry about this, and cursed the workers. None of them could understand each other, as suddenly they all spoke a different language. The tower crumbled under the encumbered work, and was never completed."

The Prince frowned. "That was cruel."

Yuugi frowned too. "Yes, well, a lot of the myths of the gods where I am from don't have the best reputation for being just all of the time." He felt arms wrap around him, turned around, and looked up into the Prince's handsome face.

"Ready?"

"I'm ready," he stated. Powerful wing beats lifted the two of them easily into the air. Yuugi watched as the ground grew smaller and smaller beneath him. He had never really been on large heights before, and therefore didn't know if he had any fear. However, when the thought hit him that he'd have to navigate the air space on his own, this high up, he became nervous.

Perhaps he was asking for trouble. In fact, Yuugi was positive that he was. But for the life of him his curiosity would not leave him alone. So, for reasons beyond his comprehension, he acted. Slowly enough to still be considered innocent yet unsure, Yuugi glided his hands up Atemu's back, digging his fingers into the soft linen of the Prince's shirt. He hid his face in the muscular chest, smelling that sweet, musky cologne the Prince always exuded.

He felt the arms around him grow a little tense, then held him tighter. "You'll have to look down sooner or later, Yuugi."

Hm. So far, his ploy seemed to be working. But was it really a ploy when Yuugi found himself thoroughly enjoying the contact as well?

"Not yet, I don't. I'll wait until I'm on a solid piece of stone to sit on, then I'll look."

The Prince laughed, his diaphragm vibrating...oh, Yuugi shivered when the term 'deliciously' shouted in his mind. _And the Priestess was worried about Atemu acting up? She doesn't know me very well, apparently. _

Wind whipped about his hair from those massive wings. Atemu's were larger than his, a fact that didn't surprise him, but still awed the teen.

After a while of their silent contact, Yuugi gently moving his fingers over the soft cloth in quiet contemplation, he felt solid ground rise up to meet his feet. Atemu allowed his hold to release, stepping back and allowing Yuugi to fully see the space around him.

The slab of black granite they were on jutted out from the wall about fourteen feet long, and nearly twenty feet wide. Yuugi walked towards the edge, slowly getting to his knees and the height below him felt like it was trying to drag him down. "Ah," he said, slinking back just a bit. "We must be a thousand feet high."

"Feet," Atemu asked. "Now there's a funny form of measurement. But yes, I suppose the equivalency is about right. We're about thirteen hundred staves high."

Staves. Now that, in Yuugi's opinion, was a funny form of measurement.

"You're not getting me off this ledge."

"Oh, I'd like to think otherwise. Just remember Yuugi, when you're out keep your wings fully extended. They will catch the air for you and keep you in flight."

A foot shoved Yuugi off the edge of the slab, and he began to plummet. "Atemu, you bitch," Yuugi screamed at him. He heard rich laughter from above him. The teen's stomach had jumped up into his throat, and Yuugi closed his eyes, feeling the air rush past him. _Keep your wings fully extended..._

Well, they were, surprisingly, pressed tightly against his sides. Out of fear and not knowing what else to do, Yuugi unfolded them entirely.

For a moment, he stopped falling, and time seemed to slow. He was able to open his eyes, and saw the open sky in front of him.

But then the weight of his body pulled on his wing joints, and once again a streak of white pain laced across his vision. Yuugi screamed, feeling his wings crumble in on him again. He started to fall again.

But just as soon as he started to fall, he found his face pressed against a strong chest garbed in linen, and felt powerful arms wrap around him and refuse to let go. He grabbed a hold of the Prince and didn't open his eyes until he felt them land once again on the granite slab. Atemu held him at arms length once they were sitting, the teen panting as his panic left him.

"Yuugi, what happened? Are you all right?"

Yuugi winced, stretched one of his wings again. The joint was still a little sore, but he was beginning to think it was more of a jarring shock than the pain his confused mind made him think it was. "It hurt! It's like my body weight pulled at my wing joints, and it hurt. I wasn't expecting it."

The Prince gave a sigh of relief. "Well, your body was exactly crafted for flight, Yuugi. Your bones, yes, but not your structure. You're wings have to be able to support your weight, no matter how it might try to jar them. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Shocked more than anything. It just...it seems kind of cheesy that those two little areas are the only things connecting me to what's keeping me air borne."

Atemu shrugged. "Yes, well, our whole body is like that. The brain is poorly protected in the skull, organs in your abdomen are only protected by a thin layer of skin and muscles, arteries in your neck are constantly exposed, and the playground is in the sewers. That's just the way it is."

"Oh, Atemu, that's a nasty way to put it," Yuugi frowned. The Prince laughed. "Playground in the sewers," Yuugi whispered to himself in disdain. "Make me thing twice before...yeah. Anyway. Back on subject."

Atemu chuckled. "Do you think you're ready to try it again? Prepared this time?"

Yuugi sighed, resigning himself to the task at hand. "Yeah, I guess."

"And don't close you're eyes this time."

Yuugi nodded, stood up, but looked behind him. "Don't push this time."

The Prince held his hands up defensively. "It's all on you. Just don't dawdle."

Yuugi snorted. Turning back around, he touched his foot over the edge, pretending to be a diver ready to head straight into a pool.

Hey...there's an idea. Treat it like the high dive. One step back, two...and the leap. Yuugi felt his feet leave solid ground, extended his wings, and braced for the pressure. It hit, but not as hard this time, and he felt himself actually start to glide across the way. He could actually see ledges scattered everywhere on the wall visible to him. The other end of the room extended for what looked like forever.

He flapped, and felt himself gain just a little more height. Perhaps he could get the hang of this. Yuugi actually found himself enjoying the flight. Atemu flew up next to him, keeping easy pace with the new beginner. "Are you ready to try a dive," Atemu asked.

"A dive," Yuugi asked.

"All you have to do is close your wings tight. You'll start to plummet. When you want to stop, open your wings up again. It's very simple."

"Hmm, well, all right." He looked down. _Here goes nothing._ He closed his wings, and felt his head start to fall towards the ground far below.

It was exhilarating. That's all there was to describe it. Yuugi enjoyed the thrill that a sky diver does until he guess he was maybe five hundred feet above the ground, spread his wings wide, and started to fly again. This time, he wanted to climb, so he tried flapping as much as he could. The only problem was, he didn't realize just how taxing it was. With each pump he felt his energy slipping further and further behind him.

Atemu flew up next to him, noticing as Yuugi's eyes started to droop. "Atemu....I-I'm starting to get tired." His flight started to falter.

Atemu grabbed him quickly, but did not have time to turn around before they headed straight for a wall, and slid across a granite slab far below the one they'd first landed on. Yuugi gasped for breath, trying his best to let his muscles rest for the moment, and noticed with a mild shock that the Prince was directly on top of him, catching his breath as well. Their faces were consequently mere inches apart, and Yuugi was hardly abashed to meet his gaze. The Prince froze, feeling Yuugi's hand slide up his arm and clutch at his shoulder. Their chests were breathing against one another, and for the life of him he simply couldn't move.

Yuugi's eyes took on a lazy, sleepy look, reeling him in. "Why don't you kiss me already," Yuugi asked him breathlessly.

He wanted to so bad it hurt. He didn't even have to do all the work; Yuugi met him part way.

Yuugi was surprised and delighted at the same time to learn that Atemu tasted a lot like summer sunshine and exotic spices. He didn't get addicted to much, but he was easily developing a need to taste him again later. Yuugi squeezed tighter, feeling both of the Prince's arms wrap around him and hold him, if possible, even closer.

Atemu could hardly believe that Yuugi tasted a lot like the dragon's blood fruit he so adored. Bright and fresh and sweet enough to leave one craving for more. He held on to his only scrap of self control as Yuugi sighed and mewled appreciatively into their intimate embrace. And oh how he wanted to continue, but his breath had been stolen from him, and he found his lips leaving Yuugi's far too soon, lingering just above them as he tried to set his mind back in working order.

"Hmm," Yuugi hummed happily. He gave Atemu a chaste kiss again, setting one hand gently on the Prince's face.

"Yuugi," Atemu started, almost losing his voice.

"Hmm?"

He ran his fingers through the teen's inexplicably soft ebony hair. "There...there's three different ways we can respond to this, all with very different outcomes."

Yuugi noted the pained look that marred that handsome face. Something was wrong. His brow knitted together in concern. "What's that?"

"To begin with, you have to remember that royalty can not do frivolous fraternizing. It's scandalous, and highly frowned on. Royalty can not date as the common people do."

_Oh, shit. I knew I was getting myself in to trouble, but like this? Dear goddesses, what was I thinking? _Yuugi swallowed a little, waiting for him to continue. He nodded his understanding.

"The first option is to forget this ever happened. We walk out of here and pretend we never so much as looked at each other as...as the way we are now."

Yuugi frowned. He didn't like that thought at all. "What are the other options," he stated, praying for a better way. Atemu noticed how Yuugi's grip on him tightened. For him, it was a good sign.

"Our second option is for you to go back to school and not mention this until you're training is over. Then, we can declare an official relationship."

"That's an awful long time to not touch you," Yuugi whispered. "Eight years."

"And the third option is to declare betrothal now. Since your status will go from student to future co-consort, you will move into the palace, and receive private tutelage here."

_So that's it,_ Yuugi thought. _It's all or nothing. Either take him now, or not for a very long time._ He ran his fingers through Atemu's hair. "Not be with you for over eight years? I don't think I could handle that. It's too long, and too many chances to find ourselves sneaking out late at night." He indulged in a kiss again, once more happily accepted.

Suddenly, the Prince's face brightened, and he smiled warmly. "Then it is settled. You move in immediately. As soon as your tutelage is done, there will be a coronation ceremony for you."

"Coronation? As in, I'd actually rule with you?"

Atemu nodded. "That's right. Bondage with me includes a throne. Royalty can Bond for love, just as long as it's not a shady union."

Yuugi scratched at his head curiously. "What good would I be at ruling a county? Goddess, I'd muddle through everything and muck everything up."

Atemu chuckled, silently relieved he wasn't in the least power hungry. "No love, you'd do fine. There are classes that would help you through a lot of Sekeshan politics. If it truly bothered you, you wouldn't have to do much, but it would give you the power to be with me as often as you liked."

Yuugi smiled. "I think I can live with that."

Atemu smiled again well, giving him a soft, slow, deep kiss, this time allowing his hands to wander.

_I know that he's in love with me already, but I'm still falling for him. Well, like in an arranged marriage, one gets married first and then starts to fall in love. We'd still be engaged, not even having 'tied the knot' yet. Good grief, this is odd, talking to myself about marriage to another male. _

Speaking of which, Yuugi was curious about something. They broke the kiss, and he voiced his question. "Atemu, people here won't care about gender?"

The Prince laughed. "Heaven's no, why would they?"

Yuugi bit his lip. "What about an heir?"

His question was waved easily aside. "Oh, there's plenty of ways around that."

"And why do you call it a Bond? I'm familiar with the term 'marriage' or 'wedlock.'"

"Hmm. Interesting. Well, it's called a Bond because at the time of the ceremony, a spell is cast that gives us a telepathic link that can't be broken."

Yuugi smiled again. "That sounds incredible." He embraced the Prince, a thought suddenly fluttering to the top of his mind. He chuckled, perhaps a little darkly.

"What's so funny," the Prince asked him.

"What's the Priestess going to say about this."

Atemu's face paled just a little. "Good grief, I dead finding out."

_xxx_


	6. Heads Will Roll

Hello, my dear friends. I wanted to make a statement before we proceed with the next delicious chapter of this quickly becoming hot story.

They are moving a bit fast, ne? Really, though, I was finding it unavoidable. Atemu can't play around even though Yuugi obviously wants to. Like it was said, it's all or nothing. Now remember, this engagement of theirs is going to last...oh, about five to six years. Yuugi's training will move along a bit faster with private tutelage than if he goes to study at the Sekesha Hall Compound, where he'd be with many students.

Plus it wouldn't do very good for him to be boinkin the Prince whilst going to a 'public' school, now would it? Imagine the looks Anzu would always give him....tehehehe.

We know that Atemu is direly infatuated, and for some strange reason can't get his hands on Yuugi fast enough. Yuugi, however, likes to get into trouble quite a bit, and always tries to press his luck as long as it will bring him fun. This kiss, with Atemu needy and Yuugi more than ready, was going to happen sooner than later. Anyway, Yuugi's too damned horny to wait until his eight years would have been up at the Compound before finally being able to jump into Atemu's bed.

Hmm....I need to go write some more fluff now.

But on another note, before we started, I wanted to tell all of you of a plagiarist I have been introduced to. She has stolen the first chapter of my story and placed it under her account at fan fiction now . com, She just might even have your work there as well. She has had stories removed before for plagiarism, and has been banned from Deviant Art fifteen times for stealing other people's art work. Here is her URL:

h t t p : w w w . f a n f i c t i o n n o w . c o m / a u t h o r s . p h p . ? n o 3 (no spacing)

She called it 'Wings of Silver and White' instead of Dripping Wings, and didn't even change the damned summary.

Kill. Raise hell with me as we swart her evil ways. No, not even evil, but _slimy_. That's right, you twenty six year old bitch, I found you and I'm going to KILL!!! I already left a nice little review for you on _my_ story saying that I want your head on a silver platter. Perhaps you'll even be so stupid as to not look this over when you do some more copying and pasting and blatantly tell everyone that _you_ stole this work, even though you have a nice little statement that says 'don't steal my work!'

_**Bitch!!!!!**_

(Clears throat) Now that this is over, I encourage all others to head out, hunt, search, destroy, and put the awesome game of Halo to shame with the bloodshed. My darker side is already prowling...

And now, on to the story. Thank you.

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi stood rigidly as he stared at the guard barring the way in front of the door. Sure, he was a little nervous looking up at them, but in all honestly, he was just downright intimidated.

A woman standing in full armor, tall and sleek with a grin affixed onto her pretty, full lips, a rather large sword dangling innocently from it's holster on her side.

Yes, just a little intimidated.

She was pretty. Her armor was impressive, too. A full breast plate covered her bust and lower chest, and Yuugi knew from looking at it that the metal wasn't hastily pounded out because the owner just so happened to have rather prominent breasts. Oh, no. The craftsmanship was so fine, so painstakingly carved and crafted, it made Yuugi wonder if it was difficult to find a breast plate in this country that was crafted for a male. Long leather boots rubbed smooth stopped above her knees, a linen kilt of sorts draping down to her ankles. There were also leather strips tied around her arms, reminding Yuugi of what bird trainers wore for the foul that had rather large talons. The bird of prey could land easily on the trainer's arm and not puncture any skin in the process.

She smirked down at him, her purple eyes dancing, her long blonde hair falling voluptuously behind her.

"Good evening, Mai."

The guard moved her eyes from Yuugi to the Prince standing next to him. "Good evening, your Highness."

"How is the magistrate tonight?"

"Oh, not a happy camper," she retorted. Yuugi got the feeling that the woman in front of him could find just about anything amusing. "She has paper work stacked up to the ceiling."

"Literally, or metaphorically?"

"Literally."

The Prince winced. He was simply grateful that he didn't have to do all of that nasty book work. "Mai, I'd like you to meet Yuugi. Yuugi, this is Mai, the Cavalry Sargent of the Seventh Royal Battalion."

"Ah, nice to meet you," Yuugi extended a hand for a handshake, unsure of what to do. God, her sword looked so big...

Apparently people in Sekesha knew of a handshake, for she didn't hesitate to take his hand in hers and give it a firm squeeze. "Hey, cutie," she cooed, still with her half grin. "Why don't you drop by my room before you head off to bed, tonight...hmm?"

Atemu cleared his throat, bringing the flustered teen over to his side. "Sorry, Mai, this one's no longer free."

She laughed, winking at the Prince. "It's all in good fun, your Highness." She opened up the door. "Good luck with the Magistrate, by the way, if she hasn't fallen asleep yet."

"Thanks." Atemu pushed Yuugi inside the door, and the teen heard it close softly behind them.

"Good friend of yours," he asked, still a bit flushed.

"We grew up together."

"Ah."

The room they were in at the moment was nothing but a small little area with one bench against a wall, with another set of doors in front of them. Yuugi saw papers stacked up next to the one bench, and some folders laying askew on the floor. "Oh, my," the Prince frowned. "It's even overflowing into here." He opened up the next set of doors, and it took Yuugi a moment to take everything in. _If you're reading this on fan fiction now . com, it has been plagiarized. Stop reading now. _

Papers. Yep. A lot of papers. Files sat stacked one upon another, nearly hiding a desk from view. Yuugi could just make out the head of a woman sitting behind yet more stacks of paper on her desk, spectacles nearly falling off her nose and as she concentrated on a sheet that lay in front of her.

"Good evening, Miss Magistrate," Atemu stated clearly, perhaps a little louder than normal.

The woman started muttering to herself, picked up the paper she was looking at, and put it in a tiny little box that said 'out.'

"Isis," Atemu spoke again.

The mentioning of her name seemed to jar her thoughts, brining her back to the land of the living. "Oh, Sire, what brings you here?"

"Rough night," he asked.

"Oh, goddess, I get sick and the work piles up. Tax reforms, law proposals, court cases, press issues, scholars sending in one historical document after another, and it all has to be filed."

"I'm afraid I have a little bit more paper work for you to do."

Her face fell. "Oh?" she asked weakly.

"Declaration of Betrothal."

She ducked her head under her papers and began sifting through a drawer that Yuugi couldn't see. "Declarations...declarations...war...treaties...aha, betrothal..." she placed the paper on her desk and started to fill out some names on the top. "His Royal Highness Prince Atemu has declared the act of be-"she stopped, looking back up at the Prince in shock. "Betrothal," she asked. "Are you serious?"

"Quite."

She nearly fell out of her chair. "Well it's about time!" She laughed to herself, sitting back in her chair and patting her hand on her chest. "Good gracious, I thought the Goddesses might have taken away your ability to think about a co-consort! So tell me, who's the lucky candidate?"

Yuugi cleared his throat, walking up next to Atemu. Apparently, a stack of papers had been blocking him from view. "Good evening, Magistrate," he spoke.

Her laughter quieted as she took a good look at the new person before her. He saw her mouth the words 'It's the Assai,' but she didn't say it out loud.

"This is Yuugi," Atemu stated. "The betrothal will last until his magi training has finished."

"Yes...of course. One can't take up consort duties without being fully trained. Indeed..." she smiled at him sweetly. "Hello, Yuugi. It's good to meet you."

He smiled back.

She started to fill out the paper work. "Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise, I must say. Yes...the act of betrothal on this day, the day of..." her idle chatter quieted as she continued to write. Suddenly she stopped, looked at the nib of her pen, scowled, and dipped it in an ink well. "I'd save so much work if I didn't have to constantly refill this damned thing..." she started scratching away at the paper again. "Hmm...now. The Prince has the two rings with him that were bestowed upon him at birth, and will hence forth place one on the ring finer of his betrothal's right hand, and the co-consort candidate will do likewise."

Atemu did indeed have a small pouch with him, and out of it he extracted two silver rings, marked with a writing not even Yuugi understood. The Prince smiled at him when he took his hand, pushing the ring fully on his finger. Yuugi blushed a little, took the other ring, and put it on Atemu's right hand. _I must be going crazy...and for some reason I've just got to find out what he supposedly saw in his 'foresight.' I bet that would explain a lot._

"Splendid," Isis stated. "And in five year's time the official ceremony will commence. May you be fruitful and prosperous in the future to come. Signed Witness, the Royal Magistrate her Grace Isis." She dropped her pen and began to blow on the page, encouraging the ink to dry.

"Thank you, Isis," Atemu stated.

"No problem, Sire. All I ask is a small vacation once I get these papers whittled down."

The Prince chuckled. "I'll give you full leave to stay at the Highland Resort for a weekend."

The woman's face brightened up considerably. "Now there's something to look forward to. Now get out of here so I can get some more work done."

_xxx_

Yuugi's back hit the wall hard as Atemu continued to assault his kiss bruised lips. Eager hands wandered around his body, the Prince's form pressing against him almost desperately.

Atemu's sex pressed against his further as that that hungry mouth moved down to his neck. They were almost to the Prince's bedroom, the door sitting only feet away from them. Yuugi, although thoroughly enjoying every touch, was weary from the events of the day. Three weeks of therapy promised him normal movements, but it didn't mean he had any kind of endurance yet. He sighed appreciatively when the Prince hit a very sensitive spot in the crook of his neck.

"Hmm....Atemu....ti-" The Prince covered his lips again cutting off speech, his tongue claiming dominance in the teen's hot mouth. _So tired... _He groaned when a knee was wedged between his legs. He was going limp with exhaustion, but Atemu didn't seem to notice.

The Prince stumbled with him to the door of his chambers, fumbled with the knob, and finally got them in, still kissing the teen senseless.

Yuugi barely heard the door close and felt himself pressed against a soft bed. Atemu broke their heated kiss and looked at him lustily, his voice husky as he spoke. "I'll be right back."

Yuugi nodded, humming in agreement, and fell the rest of the way on the bed, feeling a soft down comforter covered in silk. Sighing in contentment, he barely managed to ease his head on the soft pillow, falling easily into the bed that now felt like clouds surrounding him.

Atemu came back, his jewelry removed, noticing a snoozing Yuugi on the bed, his wings curled up tightly around him. His heart melted. He'd nearly forgotten just how tired he must be. His new lover was the picture of serenity as he lay there sleeping, a delicate smiling gracing his visage.

He leaned over and ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "I love you," he whispered, leaving a kiss on his temple. He climbed in to bed on the other side, pulling Yuugi up into his arms. Yuugi was facing him, his large wings falling off the edge of the queen sized bed. "Sleep well."

_xxx_

Yuugi woke up, feeling bright sunshine spilling over his previously sleeping form. He looked up, and saw an open balcony a few feet away from the bed. The glass doors were opened, letting in a breeze so delicious it was like breathing in wine. Some birds were chirping beyond sight, and vines from far down below were growing up and wrapping around the balcony railing, wild flowers blooming in its wake. Yuugi pushed his body up from it's resting position, taking in the space around him. _If this work is on fan fiction now . com, it has been plagiarized. I am warning you now. The true author's profile is on fan fiction . net, and belongs to SilverLily aka Blood Moon. _

The Prince's room was gorgeous. White and silver marble flooring met pale silver walls. Glimmering granite and basalt furniture, chests, and garden benches littered with silk pillows completed the area, a basin with water sitting on top of a long table was placed at the edge of the bed. Yuugi scooted over, dipped his hands in it, and rinsed his face.

The bed was empty aside from him. The Prince was most likely up and getting back to work. He had taken a lot of time off lately, spending a lot of days with Yuugi back at the Sekesha Hall Compound healing ward.

Speaking of which...Yuugi supposed the Headmistress was out to get Atemu's head today. She sounded angry enough the night before, but not even returning the teen that night? And not only that, but declaring betrothal? Yuugi was sure that she'd be furious at the moment.

He really didn't know why. So he had wings that were cruelly torn out of him. Okay. He was getting better. He'd learn how to hide them, safe at the palace away from prying eyes rather than in a public compound. What was the problem?

He got off the bed, and started to poke around the room. There had to be a clean set of clothes in there. Aha! There in the large cabinet, he was able to find numerous pairs of soft white pants, and a shirt that would fit around his wings. No surprises, really. Not if all the royalty had wings.

There was a bathroom adjoining the bedroom, and Yuugi took the liberty to give himself a sponge bath and get clean. No point in soaking his wings. That would only make a dripping mess everywhere.

He walked back into the bedroom, surprised to see a tray full of food on a bedside table. Breakfast! His stomach rumbled angrily. He was really hungry.

Ten minutes later, with a full belly, a cleaned and dressed body, and a curious mind, Yuugi opened up the doors to the bedroom chamber and walked out into the hall.

"Sire!"

Yuugi whirled around, shocked at the title, and saw a male guard standing there. The guard bowed hastily, holding his sword holster at his side. "The Prince informed me that you'd wake up alone today, and asked that you be looked after until he returns."

Yuugi thought of a destination quickly. "I'm just going to the gardens," he stated.

"Would you like an escort." It was said as a statement, not as a highly polite question.

Yuugi thought it best not to argue. "Sure, that would be nice."

They started to walk down the hall, the guard slightly ahead. Yuugi knew he didn't know where to go, but the guard did, and led the way. "My name is Mahaado, by the way. I've been assigned to watch over you until you get to know the area."

"It's nice to meet you, Mahaado. I assume you already know my name, but for the record, it's Yuugi,"

"I do, but I prefer formalities. There's more respect in them."

Hm. This was awkward. Yuugi wasn't sure what to say next. "How are the gardens this time of year," he asked instead.

"Lovely. The perfume from the flowers is at their height."

Well, that was good, at least he didn't insist on being silent. "I haven't been to the gardens yet."

"You'll enjoy it."

They turned a corner, and suddenly Yuugi heard something he that hadn't hit his ears since before he arrived at the palace the very first time.

There were people yelling.

Mahhado walked on, not noticing for a while that Yuugi had stopped and stole himself away behind an open door. Inside, the two people Yuugi had been expecting to be going at it were nearly at each other's throats. From his tiny slit of vision, Atemu looked angry, and the Priestess looked furious.

"Damn it, Priestess! He's _my_ lover, _my_ betrothed, and _I_ will help him decide what is best for him! You no longer have any jurisdiction over this matter!"

"And _you,_ your Highness, are being a spoiled child! You go and propose to him just like that? What were you thinking?! Or were you think at all??"

"You speak as if I _forced_ him into it! It was a mutual decision!"

"Like hell! You're damned royalty! What did you _expect _him to do?! This is the last thing that child needs right now!"

"Damn it, Lilian! He's not your dead daughter! He's not going to keel over on us without warning! You have got to stop this!"

"I am putting my foot down, Atemu!"

"And you will not speak to the ruler of you country as if he were a child! I _will_ remove you from your post at the compound if it so comes down to it, Lilian. Mark my words..."

"Sire!" Yuugi almost jumped when Mahaado loudly whispered his name behind him.

"Gah! Don't do that," he whispered back.

"You shouldn't be listening in like this! It's dishonest!"

Yuugi scowled. "I'll tell Atemu afterwards. He won't be angry."

"You wouldn't dare," the Priestess seethed, giving the Prince such a glare it could probably have lit him on fire.

"He's _mine._ Leave him be. He'll be safe here, receiving the best teachings possible. I've already got tutors on the way. Back off, Priestess! Or it'll be your head!"

She let out a frustrated scream, storming out of the room. Yuugi could see a white energy sizzling and cackling around her as she left down the hall, her anger near the bursting point.

Yuugi looked back into the room, seeing the Prince resting both his hands on the table that had been between him and his yelling opponent. His head was bent low, and one hand went to his forehead. Yuugi was about to go in and comfort him, for sadness and weariness seamed to make themselves evident. _If you're reading this on fan fiction now . com, it has been plagiarized. Do not read this. _

A voice called from somewhere inside. Yuugi had a thought that this room led to a series of even larger rooms further inside the palace.

"Your Highness? Ah, good. You're not busy. A new law proposal from the city of Knatan." A piece of paper was slipped under his face, and Atemu started to look over it.

"....and it is so proposed that henceforth all donkies, jack asses, mules, and bobbles gots be banned from sleeping in human bathing facilities? Good goddess, what are they going to come up with next?" The Prince walked away into an inner chamber, away from ear shot.

Yuugi sighed, left his hiding spot, and started to walk again.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Mahaado chided.

The teen sighed in exasperation. "What is her problem? Good grief, it's not like I'm being treated ill here or anything. I am really worried about those two."

The guard pressed his lips together. "It is always hard dealing with relatives, especially when the juvenile can pass judgement on the elder."

_Their each other's aunt and nephew. Yes, that must be awkward at times._

Yuugi shrugged. "It should all work out, right?"

"One can only hope. And pray."

_As soon as I can get all the damned names right of the goddesses. Who am I supposed to pray to for what now? Gah..._

_xxx_


	7. Summer Desserts

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi stood starring at the expanse before him. He was finding himself starring quite a bit lately.

But the garden was so big. It had to have been the size of a football field, meandering paths and hidden niches with resting areas and fountains and bushes and trees....Yuugi was nearly as overwhelmed as he had been at the aviary.

And green was everywhere. Colors ranging from neon green to a dark hunter and green-black shadows inside the bushes coated the area in a rich, life filled aura. Roses of the deepest reds Yuugi had ever seen bloomed everywhere, wild flowers of white and pink and purple, pastels and vivid highlights and blooms the teen didn't recognize.

There was a strange flower that looked similar to a lily, however the curls of the petals flowed everywhere, wisping up into the space above them. They glimmered in colors anywhere from silver to gold to a reflective platinum to bronze.

His breath was stolen away. "By the gods," he whispered to himself. "This place is incredible."

There was a wall of ivy that reached ten, perhaps fifteen feet into the air, and Yuugi could see in a few slightly bare areas that it was growing up a marble wall, keeping out unwanted guests.

The guard next to him crossed his arms, pleased with Yuugi's response. "The plants have been growing for ages beyond count here. The Goddesses made sure when they created this place that it would never die."

"The Goddesses built this place," Yuugi asked.

"They built the whole palace. Not by hand, mind you. But by magick."

_It's no wonder the aviary was made so big. It was probably meant to serve more than just one or two people at a time_. He started to walk, taking his time to notice as many details as he could soak up. And the smells that drifted from these plants...surely this was the heaven that everyone dreamed about.

Yuugi began to tread discreetly when he heard quiet sobs coming from somewhere around bush. He was walking on one of the many trails that was in the garden, still not far from the main entrance. He rounded the towering plant, leaves thick enough to act as a wall of its own, and saw a person sitting on the ground, their knees brought up and their head bent over them, crying.

It was the Priestess.

This was the first time Yuugi had actually seen her express a rather human emotion. A _frail_ emotion. He went and sat down on the bench that was next to her, extending his feet out in front of him. "What was her name," he asked.

Her head jerked upwards, looking at the new intruder. What was in her eyes shocked Yuugi immensely. She looked lost, her stormy blue haunted and forlorn. "Yuugi! How did you..." she looked away. She was clutching something in her hand, holding it at her chest. She didn't seem to have the heart to question him. Another tear rolled down her cheek. "Emerald. Her name was Emerald." A sniff. "Rather fitting, really. She had her father's eyes, and they were both such a vivid green..."

Yuugi caught a glimpse of what was in her hand as she looked at it, using her thumb to push the object around a little. It was a locket, a little gold one with a dainty chain. Lilian sighed, resting her head on her arms as she draped them over her knees. "She had been your age, and already five years into her training. She had developed young. She'd snuck out one night, there was a boy she liked...stupid little boy really..." she gave a weak laugh. There was no life behind it. "But he loved her so much he'd have jumped off the end of the earth for her. Someone...someone found her. Someone who wasn't supposed to. She had telepathy, you know. She could call out to anyone she wanted to at anytime...it was one of her Gifts. She was a light user to. Like me." She paused again, gathering the strength to continue. "I heard her scream so loud I jumped out of bed and nearly burst out of my skin. I found her quickly...she was still bleeding...th-the person who found her was standing over her...a rusty bayonet in his hand. I knew he was getting ready to cut off her new wings. He got away before I could kill him...we never could find out how he got away, or where he was from, or anything." Another cry of anguish bubbled past her lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "The healers and I worked on her for seventy three hours solid. One of her wings didn't come out all of the way. We tried to pull it out, but it snapped. The trauma killed her. She never had a chance." She looked ahead mournfully. "The boy she liked...Delyle was his name...he committed suicide the day after he found out." She lowered her head again. "My husband became depressed...and lost in a duel to a second rate magi from a rival country, just because of stupid mistakes."

Yuugi was left speechless. No wonder she was a cold bitch. Her daughter was murdered, her husband...Yuugi assumed 'lost' was another word for 'killed.' And it was no wonder her past was coming up to haunt her. "I understand where you're coming from," Yuugi said. "I used to like the rain, a long time ago. It felt so good to just sit out in it and purposely get wet. It always made me giggle for no particular reason. But I learned not to like when it washed my parent's blood down a dirty city drain."

Lilian looked up at him, a little shocked herself. "What happened?"

"I don't know for sure. I was only six. But, I remember running with my parents. They were both terrified, and there were men chasing us, yelling things at us I couldn't understand. We had come up to a wall, and we finally stopped, my father turning around to fight them. My mother told me to run as fast and as far away as I could and never look back...there was a tiny opening near the bottom of the fence into an alley, I was the only one that could fit through. So I ran. I didn't come back until the gurgling screams went away." Yuugi stopped, reliving the complete memory after so long of trying to forget. "I went back to them. Where else was I going to go? But...they were lying on the ground, unmoving, blood everywhere. There were feathers everywhere and I kept thinking 'an angel must have come and rescued them They're up in heaven right now, and the angel left some feathers from it's wings. But I wasn't here.' So I sat down next to my mother, and I prayed and cried all night long for the angel to come back for me. But when I woke up in the morning cold an wet and hungry, I knew wasn't coming back. So I lived on the streets the rest of the time, my only friend a chronic drunk that at least didn't care when he had to kill someone who tried to hurt me..... I lost faith and hope that night. I hear it's two of the most precious gifts one can have...I forgot what the third was."

"That's love, Yuugi. Love is the third."

Yuugi jumped when Atemu's voice whispered in his ear, the arms wrapping around him keeping him from falling off the bench.

"Atemu," the Priestess looked up. She couldn't hold his gaze for long. "I'm...I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I haven't yet come to terms with what happened to me and the ones I loved."

"You probably never will," the Prince replied. "But I don't expect you to."

Yuugi allowed his weight to settle against the body next to him, glad for the warmth even though it was the middle of summer. Inside of him, it could have been winter for all he knew. "How long have you been there?"

The Prince hugged him tightly. "Since 'I was only six.'"

Lilian stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. "Thank you for sharing, Yuugi. I'd forgotten for a while that I wasn't the only one who had a right to be bitter about something..." she looked ahead. "I'd better go. I've got a lot of work to do."

"Take a bubble bath," Yuugi suggested. "And light a bunch of candles around it. My mom always said it was good for the soul. It might help."

She was silent for a moment, paused, an then gave him a heartfelt smile. "I'll do that. Thank you."

She turned and walked slowly out of the garden, not looking back.

Yuugi turned his attention to the intense eyes starring at him. "Yuugi-"

Then teen cut him off by placing a hand softly on his face, his thumb over both lips. "Don't apologize. It won't change anything. And please don't give me pity. That's an emotion that solves even less."

Atemu laced his fingers through those on his cheek. "I wasn't going to." He moved in a little closer. "I wanted to tell you I love you." He gave Yuugi a soft kiss.

Yuugi smiled, kissed back, and saw an opportunity to ask something he'd been meaning to, and find something out that had been eating at him. "Atemu..., when did you first fall in love with me?"

The Prince stopped, looking at Yuugi a little surprised. Then suddenly his visage looked defeated. "You've been listening in a bit lately, haven't you?"

Yuugi's face said everything he needed it to. _I deserve to know._

The Prince sighed, hesitant to start. "I was fourteen when I had the vision. It had been dark, and so cold, and I was completely alone and wrapped up in cold iron chains. I had cried in the vision when I thought no one would come, but then there was a tiny little light off in the distance that had grown bigger. Out of that light shimmering white wings were flapping, slowly coming towards me, and a person wrapped their arms around me and all of the chains melted away. A circle of white fire flared up around us, and I remember my body had been so broken, but the person held me close, and when I looked up it was your face I was looking into. You told me that everything was going to be all right, that you'd keep me warm in the shadows. Over again you said 'It'll be all right love, I promise. I'll be with you.'" He stopped, his eyes a little sad. "I was starting to become afraid that you never would show up. But here you are...wings and all. Yuugi...I was in love with you before I met you."

_Well I'll be damned. _Atemu apparently hadn't expected him to want to jump into the relationship right away, though. But Yuugi just knew that he had added yet more fuel to that burning fire by his silent flirting in the aviary, and then his blatant request to be kissed. And even at the moment he looked defeated, as if Yuugi would be frightened away by the sure intensity of the Prince's emotions. He decided to quell those fears by giving Atemu a passionate kiss. "You remember," Yuugi stated breathlessly after pulling away, "that I'm still falling in love with you."

The Prince smiled. "I remember, Yuugi." He could have almost laughed in sheer relief. "I remember." He kissed the teen again, happy and desperate and needy. Yuugi responded all too eagerly, turning himself enough to wrap a leg around the Prince's waist. Atemu hummed appreciatively, happy to let his hands roam as they approached sensitive and rather explicit areas.

He delighted when Yuugi gave a shocked gasp, the responding act of the teen to hold on tighter, his hands moving to return the favor.

Yuugi gave a dejected moan when Atemu pulled away.

"I think I can get off early tonight," the Prince stated, brushing his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "But I'm afraid my lunch break is just about over."

The teen frowned. "Get me all worked up, and here I have to wait." He sighed. "All right. As long as I get you to myself tonight." He kissed the Prince one more time. "I'll see you then."

Atemu hugged him, starting to get up. "I love you."

Yuugi smiled. "I'm falling in love with you." His reply from the Prince was a good laugh. He watched as Atemu started to walk away.

"Until tonight," the Prince yelled back, walking out of view.

"I'm holding you to it," Yuugi replied back.

Atemu left sight. Yuugi sighed, now noticing that he was straddling the bench rather than sitting on it the conventional way. It was also then he noticed a person that had faded from view.

Mahaado cleared his throat, giving Yuugi a leerly glance.

"What," Yuugi asked indignantly.

"Nothing, Sire."

He scowled. "You're a horrible liar."

"Never claimed to be good at it, Sire."

He let the subject drop "Anyway, could you show me to the kitchen? I think I'm just about ready for my lunch too. I imagine you must be getting hungry."

"No."

Yuugi shrugged. "Well, all right."

The guard motioned his hand. "The kitchen is this way, Sire. Follow me."

_xxx_

Yuugi sat on the queen sized bed in the Prince's bedroom, watching as the sun went down beyond the balcony railing. Although he had not seen any clocks in the palace, he still had some sense of time, and he also knew that in the summer there was more hours of daylight than in winter. If it had been back in Domino, it would probably have been nearing nine o'clock, or nine thirty perhaps.

Get off early. Yuugi wasn't sure what a full days length of work entailed, but he was pretty sure that Atemu was running behind.

The rest of the day had been rather dull. Mahaado had refused to take him to the library. The guard said it was restricted access, and he would need written permission to go in there from the Prince himself. It must have been some library to have that kind of limited access.

The teen looked up when the door behind him opened up, his spirits lifting just a bit when he saw Atemu walk in, closing the door softly behind him. Yuugi smiled. "Hey there."

The Prince rubbed his hand over his face, looking tired. "Hey," he replied. He started walking towards the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

Yuugi frowned. Well, this was romantic. He sighed, repositioning himself to sit cross-legged on the bed.

The minutes ticked by.

The teen frowned even harder when the sun had finally set completely, the stars above twinkling brightly. It was dark in the bedroom but for the moonlight pouring in from the half moon. Perhaps he ought to just go to bed. "Argh," he groaned to himself.

"Now did you really think I'd forgotten," that deep voice asked him from across the room.

Yuugi tried to see through the darkness, but the Prince's form remained hidden. He heard Atemu clap twice, and suddenly the entire bedroom was lit with the light of hundreds of candles burning. Yuugi's spirits started to lift again, his expression shocked. He knew all of those candles hadn't been there earlier. All the more surprise. "I had sure hoped not," he replied.

Atemu was standing next to the doorway that led to the bathroom, arms lazily crossed, a smirk resting on his lips. He was completely stripped of his jewelry and linen apparel, now wearing a silk robe the color of milky silver moonlight.

"Are you just going to stand there looking delicious, or do I have to drag you to the bed myself," the teen asked lightly.

The Prince chuckled. "Speaking of delicious..." he picked up a silver tray that was resting next to him on a table, and brought it over. "I brought some dessert up for us."

Yuugi's ears perked up. Dessert? He had never had that many desserts before. "What is it," he asked, curiously looking at the contents of the tray as Atemu sat down next to him.

"Crepules. One of my favorite treats." He pulled Yuugi closer to him, picked up one of the forks on the tray, and picked up a small piece of it.

Yuugi couldn't figure out what it looked like it was made of. A small, thin pastry perhaps, rolled around a soft white substance, covered in a sauce the color of red wine with crushed berries in it. The fork was set in front of his mouth, and he took a bite.

Heaven invaded his taste buds. It was sweeter and softer than cream cheese, the berry sauce so perfect it caused him to moan and savor every morsel. "Oh....this _is_ delicious." He noticed another fork on the tray, picked it up, and returned the favor.

Atemu smiled as he took the bite offered him, Yuugi accidentally allowing the sauce to slightly dribble onto his chin. Without thinking, he leaned over and licked it off, sealing the area with a tender kiss.

He couldn't help the blush that dusted across his nose and cheeks when he noticed the look in Atemu's eyes. The Prince chuckled a little, dipped his forefinger into the sauce, and placed a drop of it right on Yuugi blush, also licking and kissing it away.

Yuugi's heart fluttered. So this was what it was like to fall in love. He could really get used to it. Atemu gave him a tender look, offering him another bite of the crepules.

Yuugi laughed when they were half way done with the treat, suddenly realizing that he was actually being romanced. His smiling face was all the Prince needed to see. "This is so good," the teen stated. "What's in it?"

"It's a cream that has been whipped and churned about a dozen times, sweetened only very lightly with sugar, and wrapped up in a soft dough. The berry sauce is crushed raspberries and blackberries, with a small splash of white wine." He gave Yuugi another bite.

"I could get addicted to this."

Atemu laughed. "_This_ is the reason I was banned from the kitchen when I was ten."

Yuugi laughed too. And before he cared to admit it, the treat was completely gone. Atemu gave a dejected pout, causing Yuugi to laugh again, and placed the tray on a bedside table.

The Prince came back, placing himself directly in front of Yuugi, gently beginning to caress his face and arms. "Yuugi, I have something I want to give to you." He reached into the only pocket on his robe, pulling out something that glittered a little with a pale gold. To Yuugi, it looked like a bracelet. "Yuugi, there is a tradition that has been passed down since the throne was first erected over nine thousand years ago. All of the royalty, when they fell in love, took one feather from their wings and created a token out of it, giving it to the one person they would spend the rest of their days with." He unclasped the bracelet, and Yuugi could see the feather he was speaking of had a been bent to create a circle, encased in a braid that had been made of tiny little gold chains that sparkled in the candlelight. The Prince placed it on his left wrist, clasping it in place.

Yuugi's eyes softened. "It's beautiful."

Atemu sealed the offering with a kiss to the teen's wrist. "It is a symbol that not only have I claimed you as my own, but that I also belong to you."

Yuugi leaned over dangerously close, bringing his hand up to Atemu's face. "Thank you," he whispered, and was the first one of the evening to initiate an intimate kiss.

The Prince wasted no time in pulling Yuugi's body flush with his, one hand on the teen's back and holding him in place, the other removing his clothes. The teen felt his shirt fall away from him, Atemu's mouth moving down to his neck.

Yuugi knew what the Prince smelled like. It almost made him drunk each time he brought his nose to that handsome body. But if something smelled that good, what would it taste like? He untied the robe around the Prince, anticipation swirling around inside of him as he allowed his hands to roam.

Atemu shivered a little when Yuugi's tongue started to dance around his shoulder, small teeth nipping lightly every now and again at his collar bone. He moved forward, forcing the teen to lie down on the bed, and attacked his mouth again. Yuugi was only too happy to help him with the removal of his pants, releasing a sigh of contentment when their bodies became flush again, no clothes hindering them this time.

Atemu started to really lose his self control when Yuugi brought his knees up, now encasing his lower body between the teen's legs.

The Prince was a little shocked when he actually found himself starting to lose the little battle inside of Yuugi's mouth. Deciding on a little distraction, he started running a hand up the teen's inner thigh, causing Yuugi to gasp, lose control of the kiss, and be dominated once again.

"Atemu," he moaned softly, his lips crushed again in a kiss. He pulled back a little, only a short opening for speech. "Don't tease," he pleaded.

"No," the Prince asked. He started to move lower. "What about this kind of teasing?"

Yuugi cried out when he felt a warmth envelop him, Atemu's tongue far more talented than he originally thought. His blood was rushing through him, and his body temperature started to rise. The hands that had been placed on his inner thighs kept him from involuntarily closing his legs. But Yuugi found himself, instead, wanting to open them further.

The Prince stopped before climax could hit. He ran his tongue up Yuugi's chest, stopping at the neck and below the ear, deciding he liked that area.

"Oh...hmm....tease...y-you oh! .....Mhmmm....you're being mean..."

Atemu chuckled a little. "No, my love, I intend to make this night last for quite a while..."

_xxx_


	8. The Blood that Binds

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi's eyes fluttered open, hearing a bird chirp outside the balcony door. He realized the sun was barely up, the young rays just barely spilling past his shoulders. He turned his head to his side, a face slipping across his vision as Atemu's sleeping visage greeted him.

He had fallen asleep on his back, Atemu having landed on top of him in exhaustion and wrapping his arms around the smaller form beneath him tightly. He had also left a knee wedged between pale legs.

Yuugi realized in regret that he was sleeping on his wings, and Atemu's weight was shifted to one side, meaning that the teen was going to have a particularly sore wing once he got up.

Not to mention what his lower back was going to do to him once he got up as well.

Oh well. It was more than worth it. Yuugi tried to suppress the yawn that escaped past his lips, but he failed, his rising chest pushing against the Prince's handsomely tanned body. It was then that the eyes next to him blinked open too, pushing haziness and sleep from their glowing depths. Atemu smiled at him, running his hand up Yuugi's arm and to his face affectionately.

"Good morning, love."

Yuugi smiled back, his face becoming warm as he held the hand on his cheek in place, "Good morning."

His mouth still smiled, but his eyes looked a little pained, "You know... it's the first time I can ever remember saying that."

Atemu's eyes looked a little pained as well, not sure about what to say. He gave a weak smile in reply. "You were beautiful last night," he whispered, placing a delicate kiss to Yuugi's temple.

"I feel like I've been whisked into a dream," he continued. He held the Prince's hand tighter, turning just a little to look his lover in the eyes. "Atemu... I don't want to wake up."

The Prince realized something was wrong as he heard that cracked whisper.

"I don't want to wake up," he repeated a little louder. His shoulders started to shake, the Prince pulled him closer, "I don't want to wake up shivering and cold and wet because the roof leaks and hear Jou gasping on the bathroom floor with a hangover! I don't want to feel the old dagger under my pillow and hear the neighbors yelling profanities at each other!"

Atemu wrapped himself around Yuugi as much as he could, bringing his lips over to his ear. "Then don't," he whispered. "You're not going anywhere, so long as you're here."

Yuugi cried. "I don't want to go!"

"My love, listen to me." The choked sobs continued. "Listen to me! The only place you belong now is at my side. Nothing, nor anyone, can change that. Already there are spells in place ensuring your safety. The priestesses at shrines all over the city have been praying for us, and for you, and casting spells for your safety for weeks now. Not only me, and not only this palace, but this entire country is protecting you, Yuugi. Word has already reached the outer cities of your existence."

As shocking as this news was, Yuugi held the Prince as tightly as he could. "Don't let me wake up," he pleaded. "I love you. I've fallen so hard... I didn't even realize..."

Atemu kissed away those many tears. "Love... come with me." He sat up, pulling the trembling form with him. Yuugi did not pull his head away from that comforting shoulder he was pressed against until he felt a soft breeze on his skin. He looked up, realizing he had been guided out onto the balcony. It was the first time he'd ever actually been on it.

The Prince picked one of the wild roses growing on one of the vines wrapped around the marble railing, holding it up for Yuugi to see. "Smell this, love."

He sniffled a bit, his sinuses plugging with his tears, but complied, feeling the intoxicating fragrance wrap around his senses. Absolutely beautiful.

"How could that not possibly be real? How could your pain be a part of just a mere dream?"

Yuugi shook his head. "This is no mere dream. This is a fantastical dream. So far out there, so real, I'm going to think it actually happened when I wake up. I'm so afraid all of this... and you... won't be here tomorrow."

Atemu suddenly realized something, and for some reason it shocked him a little. _Everything here... and me... it's all so precious to him. He treasures my love so much, it frightens him and he's afraid what will happen to him if he loses it... he's lost everything else before. To him, what's stopping it from leaving now?_ Funny... he'd become so accustomed to thinking he was the one with the stronger emotions, simply because he had fallen in love long before Yuugi did. He lifted up Yuugi's chin with his thumb and forefinger, delivering a firm, warm kiss. He pulled away, looking into that pleading face that begged for the reassurance he needed.

"You're not leaving, love. You're not going anywhere, and you're not going to wake up away from here."

"But what if, Atemu? Some things aren't supposed to happen. _What if?_"

The Prince sighed. The fear was legitimate. But how would he quell it? He pulled away from Yuugi, resigned as only one option came to mind.

"Atemu?"

The Prince extended his left hand, shadows beginning to dance up from his upturned palm. Yuugi's eyes grew wide when a dagger carved of shadows emerged, Atemu now clutching it tightly in his hand. The Prince didn't hesitate, nor did he blink, as in a flash of seconds he raised his right forearm and swiped the dark blade across his tanned gold skin.

Yuugi gasped. "Atemu, what are you doing?"

The Prince held up his bleeding arm. Forcing the blade to disappear again, with his free hand he took a hold of Yuugi's hand and pressed it against his bleeding wound. "_Neshestenal ayana ayu. Eyahas ahy elentu est! Mehe nelamyenu nyanteh! Eyahasenu bestuheneh!" _

Yuugi's hand started to tingle, then tickle, and suddenly he felt strange energy reverberate through his flesh. It was strange, and his first instinct was to pull away from the foreign feeling. The Prince's other hand held his firmly in place, the blood trickling down both sets of fingers. _What is he doing?_

Yuugi gasped when suddenly that strange energy shot through his entire system, shaking his bones and rattling him to the core. White flashed before his eyes, touched with blood-shot rubies and golden sun, and he found himself falling against Atemu's muscular form. "What...what did you..." his breath seemed to be leaving him.

"A type of binding," the Prince replied, pulling him closer. Yuugi suddenly realized they were both still completely naked. Atemu's form shook next to his own. "It is something that is not normally done. We are not bonded telepathically yet. That is conducted at the Bonding Ceremony. It's the entire premise behind the occasion." He ran his hand through the teen's hair, and it was then the smaller noticed all of the blood was now gone. "Blood magick is dangerous and powerful, and no matter what it cannot be broken. Our bodies are now linked, Yuugi. If any force were to take you somewhere, by default I would go with you, and vice versa."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what... I'm sorry if I frightened you."

Yuugi sucked in a ragged breath, trying to calm his nerves. "That was bizarre."

The Prince gave a weak chuckle. "I imagine so. Feeling magick the first few times usually is." His body was still shaking. "I need to go sit down for a moment."

Concerned, Yuugi helped him walk back to the bed. The Prince dropped unceremoniously down, releasing a large breath.

"Are you all right?" the teen asked, concerned.

"I-I'm fine... just a little drained."

Yuugi kissed Atemu's cheek, then climbed behind him on the bed and began to rub his shoulders. "I'm sorry for acting childish," he said softly. "I just... I was just so afraid..."

"Don't apologize, Yuugi. There's no reason to. It was a legitimate fear. All I did was put it to rest."

He wrapped his arms around that trembling chest. "I love you. Thank you, so much."

The Prince chuckled, this time with a little more life behind it, and turned around to wrap his arms around the one behind him. "You're no longer falling?"

"I fell so fast I didn't even realize I had it the bottom." The Prince kissed him deeply, breaking off with two or three more chaste kisses. "We should get ready for the day."

"I agree. Have breakfast with me?"

Yuugi's eyes shined with warmth. "I'd love to."

_xxx_

Yuugi sat in the royal lounge, bored yet again. Mahaado was standing guard outside the door, like usual. Breakfast had been good, but the Prince had to get to work quickly. It seemed everything waited for his spoken word before taking action.

He flapped his left wing, which was the sore one, noticing the muscles were starting to feel a bit better. He'd make sure he slept on his side that night, rather than on his back. Atemu could function without any problems, but he knew how to hide his wings. It seemed once the appendages were out of view, they were no longer a hazard. But like he had been told, it takes a good deal of know-how in order to hide them, and he would need training before he could do so.

Yuugi was just grateful no one in the palace starred. It seemed to be like an unwritten rule about the wings, and he supposed that many of them had gone through a similar experience with the Prince when his had developed. After all, the royalty had been hiding their wings for thousands of years here. Atemu had told him that he'd be confined to a certain are of the palace that was sealed off from the rest, where only royalty and the trustworthy who had been sworn to secrecy could enter. Each young royalty went through this, so Yuugi figured the palace code had wing secrecy pretty well down by now.

The door made a click noise as it was opened up, and Yuugi looked up from the couch he was on to see Mahaado looking in on him. "The Prince sends word, Sire, to meet with him in the main hall."

Atemu had time to see him? Yuugi felt his heart flutter inside his chest. He found it doing that a hell of a lot more lately. "I'm coming." He got up and followed his guard out the door.

Yuugi wondered how on earth they ever managed to find a name for each room. The palace was a like a little city unto its self, with hundreds of inhabitants. Women who mended and wove and crafted clothes for royalty, nobility, and the army, leather craftsman who fashioned anything from protective gear to saddles to boots, cooks and maids and court officials and councilors and representatives from the cities all over the country.The kitchen itself was more like four large rooms, two of them prep kitchens whilst the other two held the actual cooks with dozens of ovens and fires and cookware. That didn't include the pantry itself, which was a large storage room with dried and preservable foods, and then another room that was a cold storage.

And then there was the wine cellar. And goddesses above, did the people in Sekesha love their wine.

And every person in the palace had to be fed.

So indeed it was amazing that someone could never find themselves lost in the vast expanse of this palace. The 'main hall,' actually stretched all around the entire palace that had been built in a circular format, the largest area at the main entrance.

With how big the palace was, it seemed surprising there was an area that could be considered a main entrance at all, even though there were still many other entryways that were heavily used.

The two of them rounded a corner, and the Prince's smiling face came into view. Yuugi smiled back, walking up and wrapping his arms around him. "Hi there."

Atemu gave him a kiss on his temple and a firm hug. "Hello, love. I wanted to introduce you to a couple of people."

Yuugi pulled away and, looking around, noticed two other figures standing next to one another. One was a female, this was without a doubt, but her skin was a pale blue, her hair golden, and she was tall with a quiet face. She also had... pointed ears? Her clothing was exotic even by the palace standards.

The other figure, a male, was extremely tall, with pitch black hair, dark skin, and fiery red eyes. He appeared to have an affinity for black, as it was all he had on.

"Yuugi, these are your new tutors. Please meet Ayana, a Myste Elf, and Daemon, who is in fact a dragon."

The teen's jaw dropped open, but he quickly covered his mouth. Manners were very important here, and he certainly didn't want to offend. "A dragon? You... don't look like one."

The handsome face on the dark man smiled silkily. "You think so?"

Yuugi watched as suddenly a huge shadow extended over his frame, the swirling mass of darkness in front of him growing ever larger.

It was a good thing the hall was indeed quite so large. Yuugi could hardly believe how big the creature in front of him was. The dragon, pure black with gleaming iron scales, towered above him. A head was lowered to his level the size of a bus, and one bright red eye looked at him critically.

"Isss thisss more to your liking?" the voice half hissed.

He swallowed. Atemu saved him from having to comment. "Daemon is a red eyed black dragon. He will be your shadow tutor."

The monstrous creature sunk back down to normal size, a man once again. "It's nice to meet you," Yuugi stated, a bit of relief flooding his system. He was going to make damned sure he didn't get that tutor pissed off. He looked over. "And... Ayana?"

The elf smiled at him sweetly.

He smiled back. "Then I guess you'll be my light teacher. It's good to meet you, too."

"Pleasant greetings to you, too, young Sire."

The Prince held up a silver key in front of Yuugi's purple eyes, "The key to the royal library. Guard it well. You'll need unlimited access from now on."

He gave Yuugi a kiss as the smaller took hold of the key, "I have to get back to work. You'll be training with Daemon today. Ayana, Melu can show you to your room, if you don't already know where it is."

"I do, my Lord."

The Prince grinned. "I had a feeling. Anyway, Yuugi you'll have the same tutor every other day. Good luck, and I'm sure I'll see you passed out on the bed tonight."

Yuugi gave a weak chuckle, "Probably. I'll see you later."

One more kiss, and the Prince headed on his way.

Ayana had only what Yuugi could consider a mystical look in her eyes. She bowed to him slightly, amusement apparent in her glimmering gold eyes, "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast, Sire. Sleep well tonight."

"All right."

She left. Yuugi turned his eyes over to Daemon, still a bit apprehensive. "Do you know where we go next?" he asked, scratching just behind his ear. Damn that habit!

"Of course I do. Follow me."

_xxx_

Yuugi walked out into a small hallway, slumping against a random doorframe and sliding to the floor.

Damn. Daemon had been trying to get him to learn how to actually tap into his powers. After about an hour of trying, the dragon had finally given him a small feel of the magick, like a little jump start. Once the teen _knew_ what he was looking for, he easily found it.

Unfortunately, he didn't know how to exert in moderation, so the practice room now had burn marks all over the once pristine marble.

And by the goddesses, was it exhausting using too much magick. Daemon didn't seem upset about it. Rather, he seemed rather impressed that Yuugi had still been standing afterwards. After more attempts of trying to control the shadows jumping out of his hands, and more burns and abrasions added to the walls, he was finally allowed to take a break.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, suddenly hearing voices behind the door he was leaning next to. He could here a couple of voices, both of them male, conversing with one another.

His eyes widened when he realized it was Atemu talking with another person. _How is it I always stumble across conversations I was never meant to here? It's not like I go **looking**__for them!_

"_You did what?_" the other male asked the Prince. "_I don't know if I can believe this!_"

"_I didn't have any other choice in the matter._"

"_What do you mean you didn't have any other choice? Your highness, a blood bond? Are you insane?!" _

Yuugi's ears really perked up now. That sounded a lot like what had happened that morning.

"_Screw the side affects for energy that you're obviously going through now, but the problems that can occur with this? I can't believe you just signed yourself away like that!" _

"_You act like he'll take advantage of it." _

"_Damn it, Sire, I don't care how trustworthy he is. You bonded yourself to a novice. A novice! He can't control a glow stick, how do you expect him to not affect you?" _

"_I have plenty of shields in place. I'll be fine until he's a little more trained." _

"_You're shields will do little good, Sire! You signed your body over to him, being the only one to spill blood. Good goddess, Atemu, you're practically his slave!" _

"_I know that!" _the Prince roared. _"I told you! I didn't have any other choice!" _

"_What happened to at the **very** least asking for a mutual bond? Or doing this the other way around? Well?" _

"_I couldn't put a sharp edge to his skin if I tried. He was already frightened enough this morning. Seeing him cry like that... it crushed me. Not to mention his worry was correct. Strange things like that have happened before. How many Queens have suddenly gone missing from their bed at night?" _

"_Certainly not enough to warrant putting your own life at risk! I don't care how trustworthy he is, my Lord, he can make mistakes, and do something to you he will come to regret." _

"_I have more faith in Yuugi than that." _

Yuugi was becoming highly confused by this conversation. Atemu? His slave? His body belonged to him? How? And how in the world could he injure the one thing he cared about most? He was getting a little worried.

"_Not to mention you can't even reverse this. There's no going back." _

"_That's why it was this spell that I chose." _

"_Sire, you know blood bonds are classified under curses. Slave owners in other countries bind slaves to them all of the time, doing goddess-knows-what sick, horrible, twisted and sadistic things to them, and the slave can't even fight back." _

"_**This is not Queschtal!" **_This Prince growled angrily. "_This is Sekesha! I'll sign the death warrant myself for those sick bastards. And Yuugi is a lot brighter than you're giving him credit for. Believe it or not, he's still **your **superior. I suggest you have a little more faith in him, for your own good." _

A sick feeling sunk into the pit of his stomach. Yuugi had a feeling that Atemu was doing a lot of bullying to keep everyone at the very least quiet about his decision of betrothal. First the Priestess, and now this person. Who would be next?

Oh, damn, and his break was going to be over soon...


	9. Red Equivalency

1**Dripping Wings**

_Down to the earth, I fell_

_With dripping wings, heavy things won't fly._

_And the sky might catch on fire, and burn the axis of the world_

_That's why I prefer a sunny sky, _

_To the glittering and stinging in my eyes. _

"Daemon, what's a blood bond?"

The dragon stood back as he looked at the chair in front of him, deciding he didn't like the placement. He pushed the wooden furniture a little to the left. "Blood bond? Oh, yes, that's a form of blood magick. Dangerous stuff." He stood back again, tapping a forefinger over his lips. No, he didn't seem to like that placement either. He shoved the chair a little further back. "Blood bonds are formed when two parties spill blood from their arms, legs, or neck. Contact must be made between the two, with a certain incantation to form the bond. It's tricky, and should never be performed by anyone other than a Master or Adept level magi."

"Why's that," Yuugi asked.

The dragon decided the chair was finally positioned properly, and started moving around a second. "Because of what can go wrong. If the bond is formed incorrectly, it can go too deep. For instance, if one person get's a cut on their hand, the other will start to bleed. If one gets sick, the other will start vomiting or sneezing. This would be fine, except for the fact that blood bonds cannot be reversed. Blood magick, for the most part, is classified under curses because of this, and for the most part has been banned in this country except by written royal permission. Any who are caught doing blood magick are severely punished, even put into exile." He pushed the second chair around again, scowling as he couldn't get the placement right. "Then there's the other kind of blood bond..."

Yuugi's heart sank. "Which is?"

"It's a one sided bond. Sick, dangerous, and painful. In a one sided bond, the one to have spilled blood is put at the mercy of the one who hadn't. Their body is subject to whatever the dominant member of the bond wants them to do. You see, magick flows in channels, much like a river. In a mutual blood bond, the channels of magick have been equally opened up between the two, giving equal control. But in a one sided bond, the channel of magick only flows into the one who bled, therefore opening up their body to any magick the dominant party might allow to flow down that opened channel."

Yuugi's knees felt weak. "What happens if, say, the dominant is unable to properly control their magick? What would happen then?"

Daemon pushed the second chair one last time to the left, finally deciding that was a good place for it. "That's also dangerous and fool hardy. If the one who can't control their magick experiences intense emotions, such as anger, fear, depression, or acute frustration, they could lash out with their magick and not even realize it. And since that bond has been opened, that channel is clear, the magick will take the easiest path, and all of that misplaced energy will be sent to the recessive member in the bond. If the person is angry enough, they could even cripple the one to have bled."

Suddenly, Yuugi felt sick to his stomach. He felt like he wouldn't be able to stand much longer. How could Atemu have not told him? How could he have so much faith in a novice? After all, he'd been burning up the practice room all morning, what could have happened if he really _did_ lose control? "Daemon....I-I don't feel very well." His back hit the wall behind him hard as he sought for the ability to remain standing.

The dragon looked at him in concern. "You don't?" His intense red eyes studied Yuugi scrupulously. "I smelled it on you when you first walked into the main hall."

Of course, dragons would have an acute sense of smell, wouldn't they? Surely he'd have smelled the blood that had been freshly spilt that morning. Yuugi suddenly felt hurt. _Why didn't he tell me? Why? _"He was the only one to bleed this morning," he whispered.

"He...._what??" _The two chairs the dragon had spent so much time placing for Yuugi to practice magick on suddenly exploded into a thousand tiny shards.

Yuugi winced.

"Sire, perhaps it is a good idea you take a rest for the remainder of the day. You've been working hard, and the overload of shadow powers have made you slightly dizzy. It's normal. I suggest you head down to the kitchens and request a whole apple and some caramel dip. It will help with your energy."

The teen nodded, pushing against the wall to stand on his own. "Perhaps you're right."

"And don't forget that paring knife now, all right?"

Yuugi looked up, nodding. Yes, a paring knife should do it....

"I don't want to see you until you've rested."

"You won't. I promise."

_xxx_

Atemu opened up his bedroom door, walking in and sighing in relief. It had been, sadly, an exceedingly long day, and he was glad that it was over. He wasn't surprised to find it dark in the bedroom. He was expecting Yuugi to be asleep by now. However, he was surprised to see a dark mass sitting up on the bed, now just a mere shadow in the moonlight slipping in from the balcony door. "Yuugi," he asked. "I thought you'd be asleep by now." He closed the door and proceeded over towards a dresser, taking off the gold arm cuffs on his forearms.

"I couldn't sleep."

He stopped short, noticing how distant his voice sounded. The gold jewelry clanked lightly as it hit the marble surface. "Why not?"

"I know."

_Chink!_ Rings hit the marble dresser top unceremoniously. _Chink, chink! _Yuugi's voice sounded hurt. Betrayed, almost. He turned around slowly. "What do you mean?"

"Bring some light in here."

Atemu clapped his hands, and a few candles lit up around them. "Yuugi," he asked softly again. He didn't get a response; just a pat on the bed motioning for him to sit. This was going far enough. He needed Yuugi to speak to him about what was wrong. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and kicked off his sandals. "Yuugi, what's going on?"

Deep purple eyes looked up at him, the face almost cute in its anger.

Almost.

"I know about the blood bond. The curse."

"........oh."

Yuugi nearly snarled. "Oh? Why didn't you tell me? Atemu, I don't want to have that kind of a relationship! I blew up a sofa and two desks today! What would have happened had that power went to you instead?? What if my frustration from earlier caused you physical harm?"

The Prince ran a hand through the teen's soft hair. "You didn't. I have more faith in you, Yuugi. Your control is much greater than you realize. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."

Atemu was shocked when Yuugi pulled away from his touch. "I'm not a child, Atemu! There's no reason you need to shelter me from knowledge! Pain and those who wish to do harm, yes, but not knowledge! Don't keep me naive and in the dark, Atemu! Gods above, don't ever think there's a fact or idea I won't be able to handle! I can make an informed, _sound_ decision on my own! I would never had told you to do this to yourself!"

"Yuugi, it's all right! I'm not worried-"

"Well I am!"

The Prince watched as his younger lover brought up his right hand, a paring knife in his grip, and sliced through his arm before he could be told otherwise.

"Yuugi!" He looked at the thick blood trickling down pale flesh. The teen hadn't even winced.

"This isn't my first wound, lover." Amethyst eyes bored into his, a power he had never seen before flaring to life. "I have never talked to you before like you were royalty, or above me, nor have you treated me like the poor child I was born as. Make us equal again, Atemu, or I'll do it for us. I know the incantation, but only the goddesses know how my limited tutelage will screw it up beyond repair."

_The key to the library. I gave that to him this morning, hadn't I? Every fact and fantasy ever concocted in this world rests in that massive room. He found the curse all on his own..._

The eyes that looked back at him reflected the red in his blood. Atemu simply nodded at him, using a hand to cover the fresh wound, and the other to hold the back of the arm. He repeated the same incantation from before, and like before Yuugi felt the foreign energy buzzing around within him.

It was different this time, however. This time it hurt. Now, it felt like small wires as thin as gossamer were pulled painfully from his very marrow, rushing in a wave of erratic energy towards the hand on his cut wrist. His body started to shake, his breath all but leaving him. The pain caused a thread of panic to rise in his throat, anxiety now starting to weave a deadly hand around his throat.

He felt his wound stretched shut and healed, and knew the spell was over. Immediately he sucked in a breath, then two, then with his next released a choked cry, falling into the Prince's warm embrace. His body hurt, and he felt nearly as weak as the first time he'd awakened with his new wings.

"I am so sorry, darling. I didn't want you to have to go through that...." Those lithe arms held him firmly and lovingly.

Yuugi gave a weak chuckle, his lungs now back under his control. "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Atemu laid him back down on the bed, still tangling his fingers into those ebony locks. "I love you," he stated. "I...I hadn't realized I was sheltering you like that. My first instinct is to bring you as little strife as possible. I never gave it any other thought except that I was trying to make you as happy as I could. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. I'm sorry."

"In reality, Atemu, I have been exposed to more life than even you have. I have also learned that what you don't know could kill you." His head leaned into the soft touches, his consciousness slipping from him. But there was something he had to say, and something he had to get across. "And I love you, too. And we _are_ equals, in every way?"

"In every way."

"No more secrets, no matter how small, Atemu. T-there is nothing either of us should be hiding from the other."

The Prince climbed into bed as well, pulling up the covers. He wrapped the teen up in a protective embrace, frowning as that slender body shivered with the chills. "No secrets, love. Forgive me." A kiss to a pale temple. "Please forgive me."

"Hn, silly. I...." Yuugi yawned. "I couldn't stay angry at you." He looked up at that handsome face filled with sorrow. "Not when you look so pathetic, at any rate." He smiled, placing a shaky hand on the Prince's face. His comment earned him a much needed chuckle.

Atemu pressed his lips against Yuugi's softly, once again loving the taste. Yuugi, sadly, was too tired to respond, and his eyes were starting to droop. The smooth, warm lips against his left, allowing the Prince to whisper in his ear. "Good night, darling."

"Darling," Yuugi whispered, snuggling in place. "Hmm....that's a pet name I'd have never thought to use...." His eyes closed completely. "Love you....darling...." his breathing evened out, and the Prince knew then that he was asleep. He held him even closer.

"I'll never let you out of my life," Atemu whispered to him quietly. "You're more precious to me than anything. I will do everything in my power to keep harm from coming to you, and I know now that you are doing everything in your power to do likewise for me." He kissed Yuugi's forehead. "I don't fear the shadows anymore. I'm no longer afraid of my own Gift, because of you...." Before he could ramble on anymore to himself, he too had fallen fast asleep.

_xxx_

The air around him seemed unusually warm, and there was an inexplicable softness brushing against his skin so delicate it put the fluff of clouds to shame.

Atemu opened his eyes, a yawn slipping past his lips. He noticed that both him and Yuugi were sleeping on their sides, Yuugi's face hidden in the Prince's chest. It seemed that, during the night, Yuugi extended one of his wings over the two of them without realizing it. It must had been there for a while, for the feathers had done an incredible job at keeping in their body heat. It was no wonder it had grown so warm.

Atemu smiled softly, pressing his hand flat on Yuugi's back. He could certainly get used to waking up like that every morning. The skin under his callused palm was smooth and nearly as soft as the teen's wings. He allowed his hand to glide for the moment, content as Yuugi slept away in his embrace.

Something under his hand caught his attention. There was a very thin line that seemed to trail around Yuugi's slender back, running along the spine for a time and then zig-zagging back across it.

It was a scar. And, from the feel of it, a long, old, and very painful scar.

The Prince frowned. He knew Yuugi had been right the night before. It hadn't been his first wound. But hearing and actually finding physical proof were too very different things.

It wasn't right for him to have gone through such things. It wasn't right at all. _Why_ had Yuugi's parent's fled to such a world? Who were they? Where did they come from? Atemu wondered if they'd ever find all of the answers to their questions.

What was another thing too. Atemu knew that Yuugi needed him, but _how_ was another. The Prince didn't know if he knew how to love and protect without shelter. How else was he to protect Yuugi from harm? And he wasn't sure how to ask without sounding contrite about the matter.

Life was all about learning, and the Prince was learning how to hold love just as his mother had taught him to do all those years ago.

He had been so confused when she told him what love really was. He remembered the time all too well.

_A young boy was sitting alone in plant filled garden, the blossoms dying with the fall leaves. A chill breeze swept past, promising snow on the horizon. _

_He let another tear drop fall, angered at himself for his carelessness. How could he have let such a thing happen? _

"_Sweetheart, you know crying about your problems doesn't make them go away." _

_Wet ruby eyes glanced up at the woman now standing next to him, lowering his head sadly as she sat down beside him. "I don't get it, mama! I did my best to take care of him! I fed him everyday, and played with him, and put him away at night with lots of things to chew on and keep himself busy! Why did he have to fly away?" _

_The Queen brushed a rogue lock of royal purple hair dusted in silver behind an ear. "Atemu, you loved your bird just as any person loves another. I know you doted on him, and took very good care of him, but love, I want you to think about the first thing he saw when he woke up in the morning." _

"_He saw my room," the young boy sobbed, hiding his head in his arms. _

"_He saw the bars of his cage, sweetheart." _

"_So?" _

_The Queen lifted up her son's chin, looking him in the eye. "Then you don't quite understand love yet, me dear." _

"_Mama, what **is** love then?" _

_She smiled at him softly, her silver eyes glimmering. "Love is a handful of sand." _

"_Mama, what are you talking about?" _

_The woman looked at a potted plant next to the two of them, glad that it was a desert plant and drew a fist full of the pale gold dust, gently placing it in her son's tiny palm. "Love is like a handful of sand. When you hold it gently and openly in your hand, it will always stay there. But the more you squeeze it," here, she pressed his hand closed, allowing the sand to fall to the ground, "the more it slips past your fingers." _

Atemu understood now what she had told him. The bird he had so loved as a boy was confined in a cage, and he held on to it too tightly. It wanted to migrate like the rest of its kind with the coming winter, and at the first chance it got it flew away.

He couldn't hold Yuugi to him too tightly, either. He couldn't keep his new lover locked up in the safe confines of the palace walls. He would want out eventually. He would want to see what the rest of the world looked like, even though his love for Atemu remained strong and true.

He would do his best to not hold his lover back. _If you love something, set if free. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If not, it was never yours to begin with. _

The feathers over his body ruffled a little, the muscles in the wings starting to stretch as the owner basked in a yawn. Yuugi's eyes blinked open, and he moved his head up to stare sleepily at the Prince's smiling face. Yuugi smiled back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, _aybu_."

The younger of the two blinked at him curiously. "_Aybu?_" he asked.

"Partner, or companion." He furrowed his brow. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" He smiled brightly, giving Atemu a tight embrace. "Good morning, darling." The body against his chuckled affectionately.

"Have breakfast with me?"

"I'd love to."

The two of them sat up, relishing in a lingering good morning kiss. The Prince pulled away, brushing blonde bangs away from a flushed visage. "Love, I wanted to apologize again for what I did yesterday. I did not mean to keep you in the dark. The last thing I want to do is have you locked up and away from everything, even knowledge. _Especially_ knowledge. I hadn't even realized."

Yuugi laughed softly, pulling lithe arms around his waist. "I already told you, it's all right. I know you didn't mean to. And really, you're the first to have ever taken on a burden so large for my sake. Just....promise me something, Atemu."

"Anything."

Yuugi's eyes got that lazy, half-lidded gaze, brushing his lips across the Prince's lips, his cheek, and his jaw line. "Make love to me tonight," he asked, his sound more akin to a plead.

His body motion was saying everything he needed it to. _I need you so much now..._

Atemu kissed him deeply, pulling Yuugi's body flush with his own. "I'd love to," he whispered as they broke apart. "I'd love to."


	10. Elusive Hidings

Dripping Wings

Yuugi tried not to choke as he looked at the book that lay before him. Ayana had literally dropped it into his lap, telling him that now, after months of magi training, it was time to hit the books.

Hard.

The Myste elf had decided that it was a good idea to start out with an in depth history of the religion of Sekesha and the surrounding areas. Currently, there was a list laid out on the pages in front of him that gave detailed descriptions of the 'Thirteen Guardians, the Goddesses Who Rule.' It was going to be his job to learn and memorize every single fact and concocted fantasy alike laid out before him. The rulers of the country had to know everything about the world that they governed. Yuugi knew this, and knew that it made perfect sense.

But why did there have to be so much to learn? It was no wonder the palace library put the Library of Alexandria to shame. Earth seemed to only have about five thousand years of documented history. Sekesha had nine thousand plus.

Yuugi's tutor laughed when she heard her pupil give a slight whimper. "Have a stiff lip, my Lord, for there is so much for you to learn. Crying about it will only make it that much harder."

Despite the maturing he had obtained since coming to this world, Yuugi stuck his tongue out at her. "Fine, fine, I'll start memorizing." He glanced down at the book on the table again, scanning the delicate scrawl of the ink. It looked something like this:

_Goddesses in order of Heavenly Rank:_

_Tranquility: Goddess of the Moon, Healing deity, and one of the Divine Sisters._

_Eternity: Goddess of the Sun, Warrior deity, and one of the Divine Sisters._

_Divinity: Goddess of the Stars, Protector deity, and one of the Divine Sisters. _

_Ealian: Daughter of Tranquility, Mother of the Sekeshan Queens. _

_Ayenu: Goddess of the Hearth, Loving Goddess, Confidant of Tranquility._

_Kyaneh: Goddess of Love and Life, Sister of Kyanah. _

_Assahineh_:_ Goddess of the Earth, Protector of the Royals_

_Ahna: Goddess of War, Patron of the Militia_

_Kyaneh: Goddess of Ice, Sister of Kyaneh_

_Seyneha: Goddess of Midnight, Lady of the Dark_

_Sevenyu: Goddess of Time_

_Vahnsyeh: Goddess of the Dead, Protector of the Perished_

_Musenyu: Lady of the Elements, Guardian of the Magi_

Yuugi did his best to understand each of the purposes of the Goddesses, but he knew that it was going to take him a long time to get all of this right. Not to mention that each deity had their own designated color, metal, element, symbol, and appearance. He moved his finger down the page, noticing a small note at the bottom that he seemed to have overlooked.

_Senke, God of the Dark Side of the Moon, father of Ealian. _

Wait a minute...a mention of a _God??_ Sine when? He'd been in Sekesha for nearly six months now, and had never heard any mention of a God, not to mention one that was the _father_ of one of the Goddesses. "Ayana," he stated, "There's a God in here that's mentioned. I've never heard of him before."

"You must have seen the note for Senke. That's not surprising. He's not really seen as important. As I'm sure you've been told, it is always the first born daughter that inherits in families. The men really don't matter. He's not the only God that we know of, but he's the only one to have any affairs in Sekeshan stories."

"There are _other_ gods?"

"Sure. The Goddesses have always had a grudge against the God of Queschtal, who dictates the country to be male-centric, and preaches cruelty against women."

"Huh. But why no other mention of Senke?"

Ayana shrugged, pulling a couple of more books off the a shelf next to her. "From what I know, Senke wished to remain quiet, and preferred to not receive prayers. He always said that his lover Tranquility was far better equipped to handle the problems of mortals, and wished to have little to do with them. He has no cults because he's always ignored them in the past."

"Now that, in my opinion, is fascinating."

"That's how I've always remembered the deities, by their strange quarks or their relations to others. Ayenu, for instance, is really not that powerful of a Goddess, and really has few special powers, but she is so highly ranked because of her relationship to Tranquility."

"Strange." Yuugi flipped the page, seeing the physical descriptions of the Goddesses laid out in fine detail. There were even drawings of them for visual reference. "So," he asked, "how am I going to be tested on them?"

"You'll invoke them."

"I'll...._what???" _

"You'll invoke them," the elf reiterated. "You will summon them and use a small portion of their powers. The consorts of Sekesha have to be able to invoke the power or the wrath of any Goddess they might need at the time. Summoning Senke, of course, will be extra credit."

Yuugi allowed his head to hit the book in exasperation. "Oh, man...."

The elf laughed. "You won't have to do that for at least a year or two, however, For the mean time, all I want you to do is to create a visual display from the pictures on the page with your light powers."

"Illusions? I can do that." Six months of practice with his elemental powers had proved fruitful for Yuugi. He turned out to be particularly gifted, and kept baffling his tutors on his abilities time after time. Any more he could practically feel his energies flowing through his blood stream, and could allow it to seep through his skin at a moment's notice.

He decided he'd start out with not the goddesses, but rather, what he thought Senke might look like. He flipped through the pages, finding no descriptions of the elusive God. Dark side of the Moon, right? Yuugi imagined he'd probably look like the typical tall, dark, and handsome creature, with penetrating eyes, and perhaps long black hair.

Light would do little good. Shadows would be needed to created this illusion. Light would be too bright for what Senke was supposed to represent. Opening up his palms, Yuugi summoned the shadows that were always flowing around within him. He watched pleased as they extended upwards about six feet high, and slowly, surely, a figure began to emerge from the blackness. He imagined that the figure would wear a long black coat, sparkling like the stars in the night sky. Senke would probably also have black hair, perhaps with silver strands running through his tresses. After all, this was a moon god that he was creating, not a god of a black abyss. Silver accents were practically required. Dark skin, too, with glowing eyes starring out from his mess of black silky hair.

Ayana looked shocked, but at the same time pleased, when she saw what Yuugi was attempting to do. "Thinking ahead already, are we?" She walked around the figure that stood motionless and expressionless, sizing up the appearance. She whistled appreciatively. "Good work today, Yuugi. Now, I want you to tell me the importance of learning about these deities, then you can have the rest of the day off."

Yuugi waved away the figure, causing it to disappear from sight. "The importance of learning of the Goddesses of Sekesha comes from the fact that the government, the traditions, and the lifestyles of the people of this country are directly influenced by the start of this world over nine thousand years ago. All future laws must also coincide with what the Divine Sisters dictated before their mortal deaths and their Ascension to the Heavens. It also has a vital link with the history of Sekesha, and the wars that have taken place and the wars yet to come." This statement had been drilled into his head ever since he'd started with his training.

The elf nodded. "You're learning quickly. Now go on, get out of here, the rest of the day is open."

"Score," he replied happily. He closed the book and headed towards the door of the library, flinging it open. He stopped short, however, when he saw a body blocking his way. "Atemu," he asked. "I thought you were in court today?"

The Prince smiled at him sweetly. "I was. We've been in session since sunrise this morning. It's over."

Yuugi grinned, flinging his arms around him. "So...you have some time off?"

"Yes. And you'd better be ready for it."

Yuugi raised a playful eyebrow. "Oh?"

Atemu brought Yuugi back into the library and closed the door. "I'm taking you outside today."

Yuugi stumbled, but recovered quickly. "What? Outside? But...I can't go out there. My wings." The Prince looked at him thoughtfully. Suddenly, it all clicked. "Oh, I see. I'm going to learn how to hide them?"

"That's right."

"So soon?" the voice of Ayana asked them from putting books away.

"It's been six months," Atemu stated. "Had he stayed at the Compound, he'd have been forced to learn how to hide them in a month or less."

"Good heavens! But the dangers in hiding wings! So many things can go wrong!"

"I know."

Yuugi's mind was abuzz with questions. "Just how _do_ I hide my wings? What happens? Why is it so dangerous?"

"The best way to understand it is to be shown it," the Prince replied. He pointed to a ceramic bowl on a lower shelf that contained book marks in it. "You remember learning about this technique, right?" Atemu raised his palm upward, and suddenly the bowl on the shelf disappeared in a wave of color and heat, and then reappeared in the same way in his hand.

Something in Yuugi's brain clicked it all into place. "Ah ha. I see. Apparation Displacement. The method of transporting things through the _in-between _place. Something that is also comparable to limbo, or the dimension that is unmeasurable by time and space."

"Exactly. This method of Apparation Displacement is a little different from the one that you're used to. It's easy for you to transport one object, or perhaps even a multitude of objects, from point A to point B, but when we hide our wings, we leave them there in the _in-between_ until we want to take them back out again. So they're always there, but at the same time they're not."

"Hm."

Atemu handed him the bowl. "Push it into the _in-between _dimension, but I want you to leave it there for a moment. Then, walk across the room, and summon it again."

Yuugi took a deep breath. Displacement was always a pain in the rear, simply because he was forcing every molecule of the object in question into another reality entirely. He concentrated hard, imagining every grain of the bowl as it simply disappeared from sight. Suddenly his hand felt a lot lighter, and noticed, now that his vision wasn't fixed inward, that the bowl was no longer on his hand. Magick seemed to work like that here. All he simply had to do was imagine something hard enough, give it a little mental nudge, and it suddenly did whatever he wanted it to do.

Atemu looked at him and nodded in approval. "Now summon it elsewhere."

Yuugi dropped his hand and walked about five feet away, extended his hand again, and tried to concentrate. "I...I can't sense it in the _in-between. _How am I supposed to bring it back?"

"In a sense, Yuugi, it never really left your hand. There is no gravity in the limbo dimension, so when your hand dropped, it was still there. That's how it works with your wings. They're always there following you, but then again they're not there at all."

Yuugi shook his head. It was like trying to discern from the real world and the world ghosts lived in. It was the only way he could try to make sense of the mumble-jumble that he was being taught. "Oh...wait....so _that's_ how travelers can seemingly pull things out of thin air. Because they put them there only to be brought back out later."

"Exactly."

Yuugi could do this now. His mind didn't have to sense it. All he had to do was push his hand through the dimensional barrier, grab, and pull the bowl back out again.

He managed it easily.

"Very good, love. Do you think you can do that with your wings, too?"

"I think so," Yuugi stated. He now realized why this could be dangerous. Sometimes things were put into the _in-between_ that were never able to be recovered. Minds had gotten lost in that realm before, and one needed to be very sure of their abilities before hesitant steps were taken to enter it.

Yuugi stretched his wings once more, feeling the now familiar weight on his back, and imagined the void opening up around the appendages and suck them in. The void closed, and the weight vanished. Yuugi opened up his eyes and turned his head around. "They're gone," he said. He turned, not feeling the feathers catch the air and slow him down. "Weird. It's the first time I've felt like a normal human in months."

"Now bring them back. Once you get the hang of this, you can leave them hidden for as long as you like."

Because it was apart of his body, Yuugi felt a small tingle around his shoulder blades, and he knew that it was the void of the _in-between_ world that had not been closed off entirely. It ticked a little bit, but otherwise it was almost unnoticeable. He pushed the void back with his mind, and felt the weight of his wings return.

"Excellent, love. Very good. I'm surprised you got it on the first try. I remember it took me at least three tries before I got it down well."

Yuugi smiled back and hid his wings again. "Were there ever any royalties that _couldn't_ hide them?"

"Sure. There are always a few that are quite incompetent. They usually had confidants that would hide their wings for them."

"Huh."

The Prince came up and hugged him fiercely. "Come with me. Fall is just about over, so the warm weather is nearing an end. There is a treat I'd like to share with you before winter fully comes."

Yuugi, once again, was awe struck. The palace stables were about as big as a football field. The building was longer than it was wide, and instead of being constructed out of marble like the palace, it was in fact created from wood the color of deep cherry. The ground around it was still covered in green grass, despite the lateness of the season. The grass here in Sekesha was always a vivid blue-green. The leaves on the trees were now in full fall colors; bronze and gold and maroon and fiery reds alive and vividly bright. He knew that the capital city was a huge metropolitan area possibly the size of Chicago, but there was a huge emphasis on plants and greenery, and the trees and grass of the area were always tended to with an infinite care. To Yuugi, it seemed that all of the building simply sprung up from inside the canopy of the tress, and the vegetation was hardly disturbed. At times it was hard to believe, especially considering he'd seen what an advanced society can do to an earth.

Atemu walked ahead, opening up one of the oversized doors of the stables. Yuugi walked in behind him, the smell of hay and dirt and horse hair greeting his nostrils. Random neighs from creatures that he couldn't see yet drifted down the long isle of the stables, Yuugi's eyes straining to see all of the way down. "Atemu, just how many horses are in here?"

"Full capacity is about a thousand, but currently we only have about eight hundred here."

"Holy cow," he breathed.

The Prince raised an eyebrow in subtle question. Every now and again Yuugi would say some bizarre things when in shock. Certainly, this would be one of the times, for cows were anything but holy in Sekesha. Shrugging, he walked down the dirt covered isle till he came to a long silver rope that was hanging on a hook. He tossed it to Yuugi, who caught it easily. "There's only one way you'll be able to ride a horse here."

"How's that?"

"You rope it, you ride it."

Yuugi's eyes grew wide. "What??" He watched the Prince walk to the front of a stable door and put his hand on the latch. "No, no don't do that!" The Prince flung the door open, stepped back, and watched as a blue-green horse bolted from his stall. Atemu hurried over to another door. "Atemu," Yuugi pleaded. It was too late. The door was opened, and this time a bronze stallion ran out and fled from his stall. Yuugi could only watch as dozens of horses were freed, kicking up dust and dirt in their wake. Yuugi noticed that they were all heading towards the end the stable, where large double doors were fully opened, and outside it looked like a fenced in arena. They weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Yuugi swallowed, glaring at the Prince who now had a satisfied on his face. "You're horrible."

He shrugged. "This is the best way to make sure everyone gets the horse best suited for them. The untalented catch horses that are slow, lazy, or old, and the talented get horses that are young, strong, and sometimes stubborn. You probably don't know, but horses here can't be trained for every rider. Wild instincts are difficult to breed out of them, if not impossible. They'll only let you ride them if you've earned their respect. Although they can't do anything but neigh at you, they're direly intelligent."

"Hn." He supposed that it made good sense, but it didn't mean he was going to know what to do. "Can I at least use some magick to catch one?"

"Hence the talented and the untalented."

Atemu walked to a stall that had not been opened. Yuugi noticed that some of the stalls had symbols on them, and he was now assuming that it denoted an owner. The unmarked stalls belonged to horses that had yet to acquire a rider. The one the Prince had walked up to, however, was near the entrance of the stables, and had the royal seal on the door. This one had to be Atemu's. He opened it up, stepped aside, and unlike the other horses, this one trotted out in nothing short of an arrogant gait with his head held high. Yuugi was awe struck. It was a beautiful creature of midnight black. He was of rather small stature in bone mass, perhaps only about fourteen hands high, if not less. His hooves, however, were huge like a draft horse, and his muscles were something to be admired. "He's gorgeous," Yuugi breathed.

Atemu smiled at him. "He's not slim like the regular horse. He's not a runner, nor was he designed for speed. He's a war horse, powerful and practically unstoppable, but small enough to weave through a battlefield unharmed."

The horse tossed his head regally, waiting for the Prince to mount. He gave a firm slap to the horse's rump. "Get out there and run around with the rest of them. I'll catch up with you."

The creature neighed and took off with graceful speed.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to do this," Yuugi stated. "I've never actually seen a horse in person before, just in pictures. I haven't the faintest idea what to do."

The Prince wrapped an arm around his waist and led him outside to the arena. "You'll do fine. All you have to do is use your mage abilities to wrap that rope in your hands around the neck of one of the horses running around out there. Once the horse is roped, it will struggle. Hold on to the rope tightly, and once the horse realizes you're not letting go, it will run towards you. Jump up on its back, hold on tight, and in a few minutes you'll have a new riding companion."

Yuugi snorted. "Easier said that done."

Atemu smiled at him, but said nothing more. The sunlight caused them to squint as they entered the arena, a huge cloud of dust now floating thickly in the dry autumn air as the horses ran about in random circles. The fenced in area was in fact quite small. Yuugi supposed that if one was working with a horse that did not want to listen, a small arena would be a better choice, granting the trainer the respite from running a quarter of a mile just to catch a stray.

Atemu kissed him on the temple. "Good luck, _aybu._" He ran off into the fray of dust and horses. Yuugi was amazed as he watched the Prince catch the mane of his own horse, heft himself onto his back in mid-motion, then suddenly steer his horse in another direction, and start chasing some of the others running. Yuugi swore he heard a cry of glee from the black war stallion.

He looked around, attempting to spot a horse that looked like a nice one to ride. It seemed like a kaleidoscope of colors swirling about in front of him, and it was hard to focus on any one creature at a time. These animals were _fast_!

Fur and hair and specks of silver ran in front of him, and Yuugi found himself reeling back from the gust of wind that had just flown by him. There, off to his right, a silver-white mare was looking at him through olive green eyes, her head raised in aloof bemusement. Yuugi's jaw dropped in disbelief when he realized she was testing him.

He readied his rope. "Oh, we'll see about that..."


	11. Astarte

1**Dripping Wings**

As a note to the readers, I have noticed that many of you are confused by my spelling. Please, allow me to clarify a few things. First of all:

One, on the descriptions of the Goddesses, yes, I did make a mistake in the listing of Kyanah and Kyaneh. I apologize for that, and as I have said, typos are my ultimate bane. Because of the delay in updates, I wanted to get it up as soon as possible. I will go back and fix the problems and re-post the chapter with no typos in it.

Second:

Many of you were confused about the use of the term '_aybu.'_ You must remember, this is Sekesha. They don't have Japanese there of any kind. I liked the term of aibou, but I do not like the pronunciation, so I adapted the original pronunciation of 'I-bo,' to 'a-boo.' I prefer this pronunciation better, and now use it under the dialect of _'Asalyaseh',_ which is the resident language of the magi in Sekesha. _The error was on purpose. _Sorry for any confusion.

And, other than the blatant typos of good old-fashioned English, I don't believe there were any other issues to address. Thank you! Enjoy!

_xxx_

Yuugi tied a slipknot on the end of the rope, pulling it open enough to fit easily around the horse's head and then some. He was, by no stretch of the imagination, sure about what he was about to do. Atemu had to be insane to let him loose in an area with nearly wild horses, armed with only a silver-white rope and minimal magickal skills. Couldn't this have waited till next fall? When he could at least begin to manipulate physical matter to his own means? As it was, all he could do was guide the rope to a particular area, and he didn't know how fast he was going to be able to guide it. Had he more skills, he might even be able to force the rope-the very matter it was made of- into another form entirely. He could even make it invisible so the horse couldn't see it, but when it tried to move, whoops! It would find itself lassoed and unable to run.

Nope. No such luck. He was going to die. Of this, he was deadly sure.

The mare seemed to be glaring at him as he began to swing the lasso in his hand. He would need to build up a bit of momentum before he could throw it properly. He may have never seen a horse in real life, but he did manage to somehow see those horrible old western movies from America a good few times. He had the basics down, right? Lasso the horse, jump on its back, and ride into the sunset.

Gods, why didn't life just have an easy button to push?

Yuugi's right foot moved forward to gain a firm grounding for launching the rope, and the mare neighed with unhindered excitement and darted off to the left. She was a skiddish little thing. Before she could move far, for in her folly she had placed her back in Yuugi's direction, she could not see where the rope was coming from, and Yuugi released and imagined it landing firmly around her neck.

The rope landed, tightened, and she squealed. Yuugi's heart jumped into his throat as the horse shot off down the arena. He felt his feet start to glide along the dirt and clumps and grass. He weighed _nothing_ compared to her. 'Hold your ground,' Atemu had said. How in the seven hells was he supposed to do _that?_

_Magick._

Yuugi summoned a mixture of shadows that could snuff out flames, for their solidity, and mage capabilities that caused inter-dimensional travel and object levitation, and shoved all of it down his feet and into the ground, rooting him to the spot. He instantly became a solid block of concentrated magick, so firmly grounded to the spot a bulldozer wouldn't have been able to move him. The mare suddenly found herself unable to move, and in her haste caused her legs to shoot out from underneath of her as her body was vigorously jerked backwards, and roll on the ground. She gave a cry of anger and a snort that promised revenge, got up after struggling with the rope around her neck, and headed in the opposite direction. Straight towards Yuugi.

_This is it,_ he thought. _Time to jump on her back, or I'm going to find myself ground into a fine pulp. _His heart took on the same beat as the pounding of her hooves on the ground. Suddenly, his vision narrowed to focus on that long head bent towards him, and all of those muscles working and pumping with the pure intent to incapacitate him. Yuugi hadn't felt like this in a long time. He was used to the feeling of his vision suddenly sharpening, his senses heightened, he reflexes unbelievably fast. He was used to fearing for his life and the adrenaline rush that so many before him got addicted to.

But it was the first time he could ever remember slightly enjoying it. He would be healed if something happened to him. His pendants would make sure he didn't die. If he succeeded, he would get to keep what he fought for. How could it get any better than that?

He could almost feel her breath falling down upon him. She snorted once...twice...Yuugi pulled on the rope hard, got a firm grip, and used magick to lift himself off the ground to launch himself onto her back. She neighed angrily at him, not expecting him to have veered off the side at the very last minute before impact. Yuugi's mind, however, began to register that something was very wrong. His left leg was still hanging dangerously low, pulling him down and making it difficult to pull the rest of his body up. He felt a hoof dig into this shin a couple of time, which in turn caused the mare to stumble in her full out run. Yuugi cried out and used the rush of pain to pull himself the rest of the way onto her back.

She picked up the pace still.

"Enough of this," Yuugi cried out, raising a hand that light began to extend from in the shape of yet another rope. It wrapped around the mare's delicate white neck, formed a make-shift bridal around her muzzle, and he pulled back. Her head was forced upward, throwing off her balance and causing her to lose her concentration. Her legs stopped moving instantly, but the speed was already there, and they kept sliding down on the ground till they came to a screeching halt inches before the fence.

Both Yuugi and the mare were panting heavily when Atemu and his stallion swiftly trotted up to them. "Yuugi," the Prince called. "Are you all right? I heard you scream, but my goddess Yuugi- that was amazing to watch."

Yuugi glared at his lover, then held up his bleeding shin which he himself had yet to inspect. "Oh, I'm just peachy, dear. Peachy keen." He looked at his leg, seeing red running all of the way down to his ankles. He winced. Those cuts were deep. He looked down at the mare who had her head lowered. "Damn you," he growled. "You see what you did?"

It seemed that she attempted to snort, but in her weariness in sounded only like a muffled cough.

"Hellfires, Yuugi, what happened? Damn, that looks bad."

Yuugi sighed. "My own fault, I suppose. I didn't get up fast enough. I'll be all right, though."

"I still can't believe how well you did. I didn't know you could move that fast. Yuugi, catching a horse that easily-you'd be a marvel if others could watch you. That technique at the end was amazing with the light. Most people ride till the horse is winded, and that could last a half an hour at least."

Yuugi growled, leaning forward slightly. "That's wonderful love, but please, could you help me get down?"

The Prince chuckled, his horse walking up next to them and poking his midnight black nose above Yuugi's wounds. The mage-in-training was nearly positive that he was being shown concern. He glared back at his new mare. "That's all your fault, horse."

She snapped her head back up, grunting at him.

"What's her name," Atemu asked him.

"Astarte," Yuugi said. "It's perfect for her."

"Where is that name from?"

"A pagan religion from a long ways away where I am from. Astarte is the Queen of Heaven. Bright, pure, and powerful."

It seemed the mare lost a bit of the haughtiness she had displayed earlier, gaining regalness instead.

"I think it's perfect for her, too."

"Bloody hell!"

Yuugi and Atemu both looked up when a new voice filled with shock cried out.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Yuugi saw a young man with a messy mop of blonde hair on a bronze horse looking out at the now still horses lazily strolling about. His back was to them, but Yuugi could see that he wore armor that was similar to the style that Mai had been wearing the first time he met her. This man must also be apart of the cavalry, or at least a soldier at that.

"Jono, over here," Atemu called.

The young man turned his head, and caused Yuugi to lose all sense of reason. It was Jou. It had to be. Those green eyes...that blonde hair...not to mention his use of cursing.

"Atemu," Yuugi said. "That's Jou."

"What," the Prince asked him.

"That's Jou," Yuugi reiterated. The young man was too far away to hear their quieter side conversation.

"No, Yuugi, that's Jono. He's our Equestrian Master, and Cavalry Captain of the First Royal Battalion. He's been here pretty much since birth."

"But," Yuugi said... "he looks like Jou. _Just_ like Jou."

"Your old roommate? The one who always got drunk?"

"Yes," Yuugi stressed, still in shock. "How...?"

"Dimensions have duplicates, love. The key is to find the differences between them. Goodness sake, look at the tan that Jono has. Did Jou look like that?"

Yuugi looked hard as the Captain rode their way. "No...I suppose not..."

"And the muscles?"

He frowned hard. "No, he didn't look like that. Jou was lanky and skinny."

"Hey, Sire, what's with all of this," Jono cut in, seemingly unaware of the conversation that had been at hand.

"Yuugi caught himself a horse," the Prince replied.

The Captain looked at the brooding mare, and at Yuugi, then his leg. "_That_ bitch?" He asked in shock. "Goddess! No one's been able to catch her, even as a foal! I see she gave you hell for it, but you'll clean up all right. What's her new name?"

"Astarte," Yuugi said. He smiled, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Yuugi."

"Jono," the blonde man replied, leaning over and catching his hand for a shake. "Cavalry Captain of the First Royal Battalion. Excellent to finally meet you, Sire." He looked at Astarte again. "Well, at least I don't have to refer to her as '_The Bitch_' anymore. I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

Astarte snapped at him, then whinnied. Jono laughed.

"Yuugi," Atemu said, "ride on up to the stables. One of the hands will let you down and help you with your leg. We're going to round up the rest of the strays."

"All right. See you in a few then?"

"Yes you will."

"Bye, Jono. Good to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other more often now."

The Captain saluted him. "Yes Sir!"

Atemu watched as Yuugi steered Astarte in the direction of the massive stables, some barely heard grumbles making themselves quietly known. He chuckled a little bit, gazing now at the leaves falling down from the trees. "How's it going, Jono?"

"Fine, Sire. A little slow. A lot of the owned horses are starting to get fat and lazy. Of course, that's happening to my men, too. Not enough excitement."

"Hm." Atemu looked over at him pointedly. "I've had a tiny little inkling lately that I can't pinpoint. I want you to pick up the work again. Sunrise revile, training courses, meal monitoring. I want buffets to only be on Sundays. Pick up the leather production. Keep the armor shined up, work the horses like they've never been worked. Keep a silent eye out for new recruits. I also want more falcons trained for silent message relays. I trust you can handle all of this."

Jono eyed him with a thoughtful gaze that hinted at excitement. "Foresight kicking in, is it?"

Atemu looked at a couple of the horses that were now rolling around in the dirt like children. "Put Astarte in a stall next to Senke's, would you? I'm sure my stallion wouldn't mind the company anyway. And put the Royal Seal on the stall door."

Jono saluted. "Aye, Sir!"

Atemu nudged his horse in the sides gently, and the stallion trotted off towards the stable doors. Jono kicked his horse into gear, chasing after all of the lazy strays lounging about the arena. "Hya!" He cried, loving his job now more than every as a dust cloud began to rise once again.

_xxx_

It was late. The moon was full again, the night not as dark it had been the past few weeks. Yuugi stretched out on the bed, watching the stars twinkling outside the balcony door. He hadn't noticed them before, but there were shutter-type doors that closed in the winter, keeping the heat in and the cold out. Winter had descended upon Sekesha nearly two months ago. The Prince said that the winter would span anywhere from four to six months, depending upon the severity the season decided to bring with it from the frigid far northern regions known as '_Northis._'After months of studying the geography of the new planet he had come to, he realized that they were indeed very far north. The total acreage that Sekesha inhabited was possibly larger than that of Earth's own continent of North America. Not even Russia could be compared justly in size to that of Sekesha. Yuugi wondered how order was kept in such a large area without the use of the modern technology. Now, here, he was the only one who knew of such things. Magick, he supposed, had a lot to do with it. With the transportation abilities of mages and the way points that had been set up for the average person, speed of delivery of information was really no problem. But so large! Why hadn't any other countries succeeded in gaining just a little bit of that land? Sekesha's borders were long and vast. _Somewhere_ there had to be a weak point.

It didn't matter much, he supposed. Sekesha had never lost a war. The point itself was rather moot. There had never been any problems before, there was no real reason to worry much about it now. There were no threats to speak of. There were no pockets of stirring activity in the cities or countryside that spoke of plotting takeovers or murder of the crown. Not to mention there were always men and women and guards and priestesses that were working to keep defending their country even in times of peace. Anyone in their right mind would laugh at his worries.

The marble doors creaked open as Yuugi heard Atemu enter the bedroom. He didn't bother to avert his gaze at the moment, watching as snowflakes drifted lazily about, but he did reply. "Hey." He heard the Prince sigh in weariness.

"Hello, love."

"Long day?"

"Hm." The bed's surface lowered as Atemu sat down on one side, facing away from Yuugi, as he kicked off his sandals and removed his jewelry. "There was a particularly nasty mercenary from goddess-knows-where today that was outraged a woman was allowed to walk past him with her head raised. Then there was the eight hour filibuster in the Council of Laws today, all because someone wants it to be legal to have multiple wives and/or husbands."

"Sounds like it was a laborious and patience taxing day."

Atemu collapsed on the bed, rolled over, and pulled Yuugi into his embrace. "How was your day?"

"Long," he said. "I summoned the earth goddess today, and I learned that she enjoys both freezing her summoners and burning them at the same time. I also wrestled with a Ruby Dragon today."

Atemu chuckled. "Who won?"

"Neither of us. We both passed out in the snow."

Now the Prince laughed. Ruby Dragons were really not that much bigger than a large dog, and for the most part harmless. They breathed a fire that was a deep garnet and ruby in color, and were mainly used as pets and guardians for children. The dragon Yuugi was speaking of most likely belonged to one of the women in the palace, and the Prince had a strong feeling that it either belonged to Mai or Isis. That was a pet he wouldn't put past either of them. "Now what, love, sparked this rivalry?"

"He stole my lunch, and Daemon thought it would do me some good to get some exercise."

The Prince tightened his hold slightly, then sat up. "I'm afraid, _aybu,_ that our evening is not quite over yet."

"Huh," Yuugi whined.

Atemu chuckled as he got off the bed and walked over towards one of the dressers. "You'd better bundle up."

Yuugi rolled over, sat up, and gave his lover a slightly dirty, slightly curious look. "What's going on?"

"Just a little something I want to show you." He threw warm clothing on the bed, and Yuugi grabbed some of it and started to put it on.

It was but a few minutes later when the two of them were finally ready to head to wherever it was that Atemu had in mind. The Prince smiled at him, then led him to the balcony. Yuugi's eyes widened in curiosity when the Prince extended his wings from his back and opened up the glass doors. Tiny snowflakes began to drift in. Yuugi took notice as the moonlight played across pale gold wings, the feathers appearing as though tiny shards of light-reflective crystals were imbedded everywhere. Glowing garnet eyes starred at him intently, tanned skin looking darker still in the pale light. The growing teen was suddenly struck, once again, at the beauty of his lover. "Ready love?" the Prince's deep voice rumbled smoothly through his senses.

Yuugi smiled softly, wrapping his arms loosely around Atemu's slim yet firm waist. "I'm ready."

He felt his stomach drop with the loss of the ground as those huge, powerful wings beat furiously and lifted the two of them off the ground. Yuugi, for the first time, was seeing what a part of the outside of the palace looked like. Silver and white marble was reaching far up into the heavens. Tiny ledges held small architectural touches, such as imitation vines, small faeries, and prancing horses with wings shined in the moonlight. Yuugi noted that statues of the Goddesses were standing tall in a slightly protective stance on lower level roof lines, these statues bearing large wings. They were glowing with a light that was brighter than the moon. The ground stretched out before them, billions of lights from the Divine City, the capital of Sekesha, sparkling like the stars above. Yuugi saw huge circular buildings placed in random areas throughout the city, lights of every pastel color glowing and vibrating in and around them. Beyond the city's borders it was dark and featureless, all but for the dim glow of blue and white that it seemed to merely echo. Yuugi knew that it was Tranquility Lake, possibly the largest mote ever created. At the deepest it reached, as the books said, six hundred staves. (Yuugi equated this to being about six hundred or seven hundred feet deep.) The shallowest area was at least a hundred staves deep. It stretched, circularly, seven or eight leagues out. The only way to the city was either by boat or transportation through a way point. (A new term Yuugi learned for the transportation rooms)

Atemu landed at the large ledge of the bell tower, located at the very top of the Eternal Palace.

"What are we doing up here," Yuugi asked him, keeping close as the wind blew past.

"There's something I want to show you."

Yuugi felt some relief from the cold gusts of wind as the Prince wrapped his wings around the both of them. The feathers were large and soft, sparkling even more as drifting snowflakes landed loftily upon them. Atemu pointed to the largest building below them outside of the palace walls which was glowing a bluish-silver in color. "Those round buildings are temples, Yuugi, and the largest ones reach seven stories high. What you are seeing now is the High Temple of Tranquility. To your left, the temple that appears to have a liquid mirror poured over it, is the High Temple of Divinity."

Indeed, Yuugi was enthralled to see the temple appear as if continual heat waves were obscuring the marble structure. There were other temples, smaller ones, placed all throughout the city, some of them glowing red, some purple, some pale pink and yet others gold. Something in the corner of Yuugi's eye caught his attention, and he averted his gaze, watching curiously as women were ascending to the top of their temple, the colors of their clothing and hair matching that of the temple they were on. "Priestesses," he asked Atemu, watching closely as the women at the top of the High Temple of Tranquility now stood in a perfect circle on the roof.

"Yes."

The Prince said no more yet, but he didn't need to at the moment. Suddenly, the priestesses dressed in silver and white raised their arms, and when they moved them down to their sides they started to dance. It was rather hypnotic to watch. It involved a lot of turns, a lot of dips, and every priestess moved in time with the next. Yuugi couldn't even tear his eyes away to see the other temples populated on their rooftops with priestesses who served other goddesses doing variations on that same dance. And always, throughout the whole thing, the circle was never broken.

"They've been doing this nightly ritual for the past fortnight," Atemu began again. "The Winter Solstice is coming soon. It is a winter celebration that has been celebrated as long as anyone cane remember. For thirteen days we dance, sing, hold tournaments, and create the Trees of Light, which shine as hope in the coldest, hardest part of the year known as the Heart of Ice. The temples are extremely biased on who they let take part in the ritual you are watching now. Only High Priestesses are allowed to do this, with at least thirty years experience under their belts. They dance every night after the rise of the first full moon after the seventh snowfall, and wait for the signal from the goddesses that it is time to start the celebration."

Yuugi wasn't sure if the complexities of this world were beginning to hurt his head or not, but the more he knew, the more he was amazed.

The air suddenly felt heavy as it weighed down upon them, and the earth was deathly silent. It seemed even the birds were afraid to chirp, and the stars were afraid to shine. Slowly, gently, a soft rumbling noise reverberated from beneath the palace foundation. Yuugi almost jumped when the priestesses stopped dancing, and from the center of their circle a beam of light ten feet in diameter shot up into the sky. Other beams of varying colors came up later from other temples, most smaller, and most a little less bright than the one from the High Temple of Tranquility. The only other temples that could compete were that of the High Temple of Divinity, and the High Temple of Eternity.

Just as suddenly as they came, the lights went out, and Yuugi was left breathless.

Atemu hugged him firmly. "That, my love, was the signal that we have been waiting for. The celebration begins tomorrow. We've already been planning this for over a month. Things are about to get extremely hectic around here."

"I never would have been able to dream of a place like this before coming here. It's...impossible. I can hardly believe a place as wonderful as this exists."

The Prince laughed. "Just you wait. There is so much you have yet to even see."

Yuugi looked up at his lover, a hint of knowing in his eyes. "How did you know the signal would come tonight?"

Indeed, the Prince smirked. "Royal intuition."

_xxx_


	12. The Soltice

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi felt himself being vigilantly shook by his shoulder. His eyes blinked furiously as he tried to wake up, but the darkness still around him urged him to fall back asleep. "Nuuuuh," he groaned, rolling away from the hand trying to wake him and pulling the covers back over his head.

"Love, it's time to wake up," Atemu's voice chuckled above him. "Come on. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Too early," he mumbled under the silken comforter.

"Too bad."

Yuugi cried out in objection when he felt the Prince lift him off the bed and straight onto the cold marble floor. "No," he cried. "Sleep! Too early!" His fight was a meager one, though, and he finally made himself stand as the Prince continued to wrap his arms around him. He pouted, sighed, and attempted to make his mind work properly. "Why do we have to be up so early?"

"It's the first day of Winter Solstice, love. We have to herald the beginning of the day at sunrise. There is a ritual that you have to take a part of."

Yuugi suddenly felt his mind become wide awake with this new information. "Me? There's something _I_ have to do? What is it?"

Atemu walked him towards the bathing room, helping him to get ready for the day. "Every Winter Solstice, the King and Queen are pitted against one another in a race through the city. They ride their horses until they reach the finish line, where there is the Ice Platform. Your horse has to run to the middle of the platform, and from there, it will know what to do. If it doesn't, you lose."

"So...what's the point of winning?"

"That, you will find out soon."

Yuugi frowned, not liking the answer. He would have liked to know all about it, and didn't see too much of a point in keeping it a secret. It frustrated him not knowing. "You do realize that I haven't been coronated yet," Yuugi stated.

"I know, but your position is still higher than any other person in the country, aside from my own. Isis has had to step up to the place of the challenger for me for years now. I'm glad that you're here now to take part in this with me." The Prince smiled at him warmly, helping Yuugi to strip of his clothes and step into the large bath in front of him. Thankfully, the water was warm, if not hot, and the bubbles felt like satin against his skin. It was wonderful being able to take baths again since learning how to hide his wings.

"I...hope I don't screw up," Yuugi stated, tentatively rubbing soap in his hair.

"You won't. More than that, it's quite hard to screw up this race. The horses know what to do. They do most of the work. Astarte will do just fine with you riding her. I know you'll do well."

"At least someone has confidence in me." He rinsed his hair. "Say...Atemu, what do the rest of the citizens think of me? And the other officials here at the palace? I don't see very many people outside of the restricted area of the palace. And everyone is nice to my face...what do they think of me when I'm not around?"

The Prince frowned a bit as Yuugi finished with his bath and helped him out of the water to get dry. "I'm not sure, _aybu._ From what I've been told, most people are indifferent; they neither like nor hate you. Many here at the palace seem to have nothing but good thoughts of you, but as for those out of the palace...I don't know. Nothing bad has come up, if that's what you're worried about." He pulled Yuugi, now wrapped in a towel, towards him. "Don't worry about it. You know how to be polite to people. You also know how to be diplomatic - I've seen you at it before. Have a little bit of faith in yourself." Here, he kissed his smaller lover deeply.

Yuugi sighed when they broke away from the kiss, letting his eyes fall downward. "Ah well. I hope you're right. Anyway, how cold is it outside? How much should I wear?"

The Prince gave a wan grin. "Oh, it's cold. I threw some water out of a cup earlier outside, and it was ice before it hit the ground."

Yuugi frowned hard. "Oh, this is going to suck."

By the time he'd finished dressing, he figured he didn't look too bad, for the amount of clothing he'd put on. Two pairs of thermal under-ware fit snug and form fitting around him. Double insulated pants made of a smooth material he'd never seen before, but felt similar to satin and the color of white, felt like a sauna around his legs. A sweater made of the same type of material matched, but was underneath a type of vest that had cross ties in the front. It reminded Yuugi of the styles from the Renaissance back on Earth, but with a little more class. It's color was a deep midnight blue with accents of silver. One thing about the whole ensemble, however, did not have him very happy. "I look like a dope," he said, loud enough so Atemu could here him at the other end of the room.

"What do you mean," the Prince asked him.

"I do _not_ want to wear a cape. I don't care how pretty the deep blue-ish silver color is, I feel like a pimped out super hero."

Atemu walked up next to him, gazing at his appearance in the mirror. He didn't see any problem. Yuugi looked like a respectable, cultured, and handsome ruler. "A _what_ now? Yuugi, I don't know what you're talking about. You look wonderful. And you forgot to put on that silver headband. That shows your future royal status."

Yuugi sighed, slipping it over his hair and under his bangs. It was beautiful, he supposed, the silver glimmering as if it had been plucked from the very stars above. The royal symbol was directly in the middle of the headband, that being a crescent moon that had the points touch as they pointed upwards. A glimmering moonstone was in the middle of the crescent moon, shining like it should for royalty. "Look out, _biiiotches! _This mofo is going to rip this popsicle stand a new one!"

The Prince looked indeed quite lost. "Yuugi, what in heaven's name are you talking about?"

"Just making fun of myself," he muttered. He resigned to his attire, regal and pompous as it was. "All right, point me in the right direction to where I need to go. I'm ready, I suppose."

"Follow me, sweetheart. We have to go the Main Entrance on the south side. Senke and Astarte will be ready for us."

_xxx_

Yuugi attempted to keep his mouth firmly shut as he gaped at all of the people in front of him. Thousands, it had to be, were lined up in front of the palace gates. They were maybe a hundred feet below, none having been allowed to climb the some three-thousand step stairway that led to the palace doors. There was a slim pathway that wound around within the crowd, vanishing off to a point that he could not see as it looped its way elsewhere. Indeed, their horses were standing and waiting for them, decked out in as much pomp and circumstance as him and the Prince, stable boys standing at their side and holding the reins. Astarte had on a silver saddle that donned spools of white and blue ribbons. Her hair was brushed and laced with silver and blue ribbons as well, and her bridle and reins were sparkling in the pre-dawn light. Even her hooves had been finely polished, the true silver they were sparkling as much as her many ribbons. She tossed her head when she caught sight of him, her feet prancing in excitement.

Senke, too, was adorned in a saddle that matched him and Atemu. Where Yuugi's colors were silver and cobalt blue, the Prince's were black and a dark silver-purple. Senke wore no ribbons, but he did have extra straps and buckles on his saddle, bridle and reins that were purely for show. He scraped his right front hoof on the ice covered ground as he waited for the Prince to mount. It was hard to see him in the darkness of early morning.

Yuugi was surprised and delighted by the fact that he could hardly feel the cold of the winter air around him. He had never, _ever_ been in weather this chilly before. Everything outside was frozen solid, and the very moisture in one's breath turned to tiny little crystals that clattered as they hit the ground. Atemu smiled at him reassuringly, grabbing his hand at his side and holding it firmly. "We'll do fine," he whispered, and before Yuugi could comment on the 'we', the Prince had drug him forward where the crowd could finally see them both fully.

Court officials surrounded them. Palace nobility held a place of honor along the sides of the platform. And spread out before them, spilling out of the palace gates and into the city beyond, thousands of citizens waited eagerly to hear what the Prince was going to say.

The Prince made a quick movement with his hands, and Yuugi recognized it, much to his own satisfaction, as an amplify charm. This would raise Atemu's voice so those far beyond earshot could hear him. "_People of the Divine City,_" he began, capturing everyone's attention. _"Yet another Solstice is upon us. This year has been a blessed one, and a happy one. The Co-Consort seat will no longer be empty, for now there is a soul that I have chosen to be with. He stands before you!" _

Yuugi felt a lump catch in his throat when he heard those words, suddenly feeling thousands of eyes upon him. He was no longer a nameless person standing next to the Prince; he was one that would rule over them soon. The cheering was a good sound; at least no one sounded unhappy about his presence there. At least, none he could hear. All he tried to do was not look stupid in front of so many critical eyes.

"_The Solstice will begin at sunrise. Let the Race for the Lights begin!" _

The cheer from those below them were deafening. Quickly, Atemu dropped Yuugi's hand with one last squeeze, and headed to the side of his horse. Yuugi did likewise, having no idea what he was going to do. He knew he was going to screw this up massively. How could he not? He wasn't even sure where he was supposed to go! He mounted Astarte, taking the reins from the stable boy. "Thank you," he said quietly, and got a surprised grin from the sandy haired boy. He nudged Astarte next to Senke and Atemu, and waited for his next instruction. The Prince winked at him, then looked forward. Yuugi did likewise, and suddenly saw Lilian before them, grinning. She was going to tell them when to go. He swallowed.

She raised her arms, almost dramatically, and stood poised. Yuugi's body sat rigidly in the saddle as he waited. Without warning Lilian dropped her arms and a glow emitted from the platform they stood on, and without his consent Astarte took off after Senke and Atemu, who already had a head start on them. _Goddess, no, we have to go down those steps. Right into the crowd! What are they thinking? _Yuugi thought to himself. This was madness. It was beyond his control, though, and he let his horse do what she seemed to be very good at - leaping down steps four to five at a time, sometimes more. Yuugi hunched down low, both to strengthen his balance on her back and to help with wind resistance. Astarte had a beautiful rhythm to her flight down the steps, and she was easily catching up to the war horse who was a bit more cumbersome on those endless steps.

The cheering of the people grew louder and louder as they reached the bottom. Astarte took the final twenty steps in one graceful leap, landing heavily on the iced and snowy ground. Ice and snow crystals sprayed up around them. She didn't hesitate, though, as she sped onward into the crowd. Yuugi couldn't concentrate on any of the faces looking at him, he was moving so quickly. It seemed that a small runway had been roped off for him and the Prince, as the way before him was clear. Hell, he could navigate something like this. Losing his rigidness, he eased into Astarte's movements, attempting to meld with her and make them move as one. He laughed when he realized Atemu was right next to him. Astarte was faster than Senke, and that fact was becoming clearer and clearer by the minute. Atemu winked at him, then fixed his eyes forward. "Hya!" he cried, and suddenly...

Senke moved a lot faster. Atemu was moving further out of his reach.

"Astarte," Yuugi cried, "are you going to let some _male_ beat you? Show them who's better! Don't slow down now!" The male comment might have worked, for suddenly her legs pumped faster and harder than Yuugi had ever seen them do. A turn came up, and a sharp one at that. The two horses made a huge shower of snow as they kept moving, the momentum they'd built up wanting them to keep going forward, rather than to the right.

The track started to get a little harsher. Huge snow drifts loomed ahead of them. Senke started plowing right through it. Astarte actually tried to leap over it, and did a fairly good job, till she got just past the tip and went chest deep into snow. She didn't stop, though. She kept on moving. Yuugi was impressed with her abilities, and kept encouraging her to keep it up. However, no matter how talented she was, a frozen river was bad news for anything with feet.

Or hooves for that matter.

Yuugi noticed that Senke started to slide as he attempted to run across the frozen water that had to be a mile wide. Astarte leaped over another snow drift, landing heavily onto the frozen water. Both she and Yuugi went sliding sideways, the mare attempting to regain her footing as snow continued to fly around them.

Senke and Atemu looked to be using the sliding to their advantage, using the inertia they'd built up to simply push them to the other end. It would run out eventually, though, and that mile was going to seem a lot longer than it actually was.

Yuugi, was once again, shocked. Astarte's dainty hooves seemed to take the ice in stride, and she kept pushing herself forward and managed to find footing when she needed it. They were at the other end in no time, whilst Atemu and Senke were still slipping their way across.

The next obstacle that was ahead of them was, in fact, a tall and rather steep hill. Astarte didn't hesitate, once again. She plowed through, pushing ice and snow behind her as she scaled the landmass. The wind had picked up, and started whipping about his delicate cheeks. It was all a blur as the mare reached the top, landing on a huge circular ice platform, in fact only ten, maybe twenty feet away from the one they'd started at. Astarte went right to the middle, stopped, and turned around. She was looking back the way they'd come, allowing Yuugi to see as Senke stumbled his way to the top of the hill. Atemu looked a little shocked as he saw Astarte starring at them smugly, her back left hoof raised regally over a small orb in the center of the platform. Just as dawn sunlight spilled over the horizon, Astarte let her hoof fall, and crushed the orb. Yuugi felt the platform beneath them start to shake. The mare moved swiftly out of the way, and from that broken orb a light brighter than he could bare to look at shot up into the sky.

Yuugi had to shield his eyes from the onslaught of light. It was nearly a full minute later when he could finally bare to look, and saw, to his wild amazement, the light had branched off as if it were a tree, and the same lilies that bloomed in the palace gardens during the summer were carved out of that same light the tree was now made of. Yuugi remembered hearing about the Tree of Lights. This had to be it. _No wonder there's a race to see who releases this tree. Such an honor it is..._ Yuugi was mesmerized. He could hardly bare to tear his eyes away from this tree that now towered two, maybe three hundred feet into the air. The neigh of Astarte tore him out of his revere, and he looked around him, noticing now how Atemu, Isis, and dozens of other members of the palace were gazing at him fondly. It was then that the roar from the cheering crowd below him finally reached his ears.

"Congratulations, love. You knew what to do after all."

Yuugi almost jumped when he heard Atemu speak softly next to him. "Ha, yeah right. Astarte is the one who did all of the work."

"Told you."

Yuugi laughed a little bit, simply in the sheer delight of the moment. "So, love, what's next?"

"Next," Atemu asked him with mach curiosity. "Oh, next there's food, and wine, then some more food, then an ice skating contest, then ice sculptures, then some more food, then the ice palace gets built, then more food and wine, then horse racing, then some more food, and if there's time, wine and food."

Yuugi laughed again. "And how long does this celebration last?"

"Thirteen days."

_xxx_

Keylian looked up at the new Tree that loomed above her and the rest of the people in the city. She was one of the lucky ones, for she had been right up front and was able to see the Prince and his Betrothed race down the pathway that had been cleared for them. The white horse looked so pretty! Her heart ached to have a horse like that of her own someday.

"Keylian," a voice next to her cried in excitement. "Did you see it? Did you see? The Betrothed won! He won! The Prince has won every year since he started! That was amazing!" It was her younger sister, Neshya. She stood next to her older sister bouncing on her heals in excitement.

"I wish I had a horse like that," she mused to herself.

Her sister snorted. "Are you kidding? That's one of the Sacred. Trying to get a horse like that is nearly impossible unless you work at the palace. Or a Guardian, for that matter. Do you _really_ want to be a Guardian, Keylian? Hm?" Her sister pressed.

Keylian sighed. No, she didn't _really_ want to be a Guardian. The protectors of Sekesha had a hard and demanding job. Many of them died daily defending the borders from bandit raids and civil brawls. Besides, she wasn't even Gifted. She'd never be able to become a Guardian. "I can still dream," she retorted.

"I'll be dreaming about the Prince tonight," Neshya went on. "Oh, if a man like that were to come walking into my life..." she twirled around as her thoughts danced around her imagination.

She laughed at her younger sister's antics. "Like that would ever happen." People bumped into her now as they left the steps of the palace to head elsewhere.

"Come on," Neshya said, tugging on her hand. "The ice skating contest is about to start. I'm old enough to enter it this year. After that, mamma made fresh bread and meat pies for us. And wine is getting passed around all day long! For free! Come on, we _have_ to get some!"

"Neshya, you're only sixteen. You're not old enough to drink yet. You still have to wait for two years."

Her sister pouted, but her face brightened up just enough that Keylian wondered what she was up to. "They don't have to know that yet." _They_ meaning the vendors that would be passing out the wine. Things were usually so busy that they would hardly notice if a glass suddenly went missing from their table.

She scoffed. "You're going to get us in a lot of trouble! You know that, don't you!"

Neshya laughed as she pulled her sister towards Tranquil Lake, the largest body of water that was actually in the city limits. That's where the skating competition was always held.

"_Hey, look out down there!"_

Keylian turned around quickly when the voice boomed behind her. People were moving out of the way, and she understood why very soon. Two of the Sacred were running her way. She pulled Neshya, who cried out in protest, off to the side.

It was the Prince and the Betrothed! They were on their horses, running at a comfortable pace down the road! She starred transfixed as the two, on their beautiful horses, laughed and yelled at one another. The Betrothed dodged a snowball that came rocketing his way from the Prince. "You missed," he cried out happily. Keylian heard Neshya gasp next to her. The two of them were playing with snowballs?

The Betrothed's horse neighed in glee, prancing around to face the Prince. The one riding her summoned up a snowball from the ground with magick, then quickly flung it at the Prince. The dark horse the Prince rode turned around quickly, but his rear was still splattered with fresh white snow. The neigh and snort of surprise that followed was incredibly humorous.

"They must be on their way to the Lake," Neshya whispered next to her. "They're judging it, you know!"

Keylian wasn't really listening. She kept gazing at how beautiful the pair were together. Some things just weren't fair in life. But, she supposed, being a descendant from the Goddess gave one a lot of perks in life. The white horse, one of the Sacred Herd of the crown, neighed again as she ran off through the crowd. The midnight colored stallion took off after her.

"Entranced?"

Keylian nearly jumped out of her skin when her brother spoke loudly behind her. "Oh!" she cried. "You nasty child! Don't sneak up on me like that! And no, I was not entranced!"

Her eighteen year old brother laughed. "Yeah, right. I saw that look in your eyes. All sparkly and shiny. You'd probably jump into Tranquility Lake if the Prince just asked you to."

She growled angrily, picked up a huge lump of snow, and chucked it at him. It landed in his dark black hair, soaking it through and through. "Oh, you'll pay for that!" he roared.She grabbed Neshya's hand, and darted off to the Lake, laughing like crazy.

_xxx_

Confused about Keylian and Neshya? Don't worry, more will be revealed in future chapters...


	13. Northern Reach

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi finished off his _neheseneh_ fruit, which was in fact a candied concoction of dragon fruit, sugar, and honey. He'd have never thought the combination could work together, but it was one of the most delicious things he'd ever eaten. He walked alongside Atemu as they reentered the palace, the sun now almost fully below the horizon. The day had been so crazed, and to Yuugi's shock, it wasn't even over yet. Parties would be held all over the city, in both public and private establishments alike. It was now his and the Prince's job to get ready for the ball that would be held at the palace that very night.

He could hardly believe all of the things he had done that day. To begin with, he and Atemu judged the ice skating contest, which had three different challenges; the creative skate routine, long distance race, and short distance race. Afterwards, the two of them walked around touring and tasting the breakfast meals from different vendors and bakeries in the city, and then handed out first, second, and third prize ribbons. Those establishments/cooks would receive hoards of business during the next year. After that, they had gone ice skating themselves, then watched a horse race that consisted of the average horse. Yuugi was beginning to understand the differences in horses in Sekesha, something he had not been at first introduced to. Apparently, there were two different breeds; first was the Sacred Herd, the group of horses that were intelligent, and either belonged to royalty or Guardians. Guardian, apparently, was an occupation that one did not simply apply for. One of the Sacred had to choose a person, seemingly at random, to become their rider. The Guardians acted as the law enforcers for the entire country: thus, there was a large amount of them. They had a particular uniform that they wore, and it was always the exact same color as their horse. Once they were actually chosen by their horse, and as they were almost invariably all Gifted, they would train at the Sekesha Hall Compound for three years before they actually went on their runs, or were stationed at different outposts throughout the kingdom. However, there was apparently another breed of creature that was also a Sacred, and was also bred at the palace; dragons. Different than the type of dragon that Daemon was, these dragons had the exact same mentality as that of the Sacred horses, and acted in the exact same manner with Guardians.

Thus, there were two different races for the horses: one for the Sacred and one for the regular horse, which was used by the average peasant that had no magickal abilities.

After the horse race, it was time to taste test lunch menus. Afterwards, wine tasting, then...a dancing contest. After the winners had been announced, Yuugi had been delighted when the Prince whisked him out onto the floor and, once again, swept him off his feat. After _that_ was a craft fair, and they had to judge the best artwork by the many guilds in the area, and also work by independent artists.

Yuugi was quite exhausted at the moment, but Atemu promised him a nap before the ball that night. It wouldn't begin for another couple of hours, and even then they'd get to sit for the large remainder of the evening, then enjoy an extravagant dinner in the comfort of the palace.

Yuugi let out a wearied sigh that expressed his tired state as they walked up to their bedroom door, leaning his head on Atemu's shoulder. The Prince chuckled. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

"Hmm... are you sure I can't just go to sleep for the rest of the night?"

"Positive. There is something that I really want you to see. There is a reason that our guest list is booked every First Soltice Night, and it's not just the prestige of being at the palace. Even royalty from other countries will be here tonight to witness the event that will be happening. The wait list to get invited is over ten feet long. For some nobles, it's actually their life long goal to get invited to this dinner tonight, if you can believe that."

Yuugi laughed. "Actually, no, I have a very hard time believing that. But I suppose I'll find out why they want to come so much this evening."

"You will indeed."

Yuugi collapsed on the bed as Atemu closed their bedroom door. He felt arms wrap around him as the Prince curled up behind him and held him close. It was _so_ nice to lay back down in their bed after so much activity. "Sleep hard, love, we'll be up for probably the rest of the night."

"Please tell me we get to sleep in come morning."

Rich laughter reverberated behind him. "We get to sleep in every morning of the Solstice from now on."

_xxx_

Yuugi sat next to Atemu at the Royal Table, the seats they were in actually two thrones. Yuugi felt more than awkward sitting in a chair that had so much recognition, but he supposed that he had no choice but to get used to it. _Who knew something like this would ever happen to me. I go from poor orphaned punk to royalty for a country that has more power and food than they know what to do with._

Atemu sat next to him with a quiet ease. He seemed to be enjoying himself and the buzz of all of the activity around them. Cooks and maids and servants and pages were running around serving food and wine and beverages, whilst nobles and guests and visiting royalty were walking around and mingling or sitting around and chatting with one another. Yuugi and Atemu's table was set up on a platform that was maybe a foot above the ground floor. Isis and Lilian were at the table with them; Lilian next to Atemu and Isis next to Yuugi.

"So, what happens next," he leaned over and whispered in Atemu's ear.

"You'll see soon. The trumpets will sound shortly to call everyone to attention."

As if on cue, brass instruments _did_ call out from the outskirts of the ball room, and as one it seemed the body of people moved to their tables and sat down. All eyes were immediately drawn to the back of the room. Yuugi turned his head as well, eager to see what was going to happen. Whatever it was, it was important enough that people hoped to make it to this all their life.

From a back doorway emerged a woman that in all respects looked extremely exotic in Sekeshan standards. Most people in the Divine City had naturally pale hair, light skin, and wore pastel colors. The usual hair color of a person's hair was pale pink, purple, yellow, or white. Their skin was never darker than an off beige. Her skin, however, was bronze with a golden hue, and had lithe arms and strong legs that held her frame with poise and dignity.

Her look was exotic unto itself, however, for the fact that her hair was silver.

White linen was wrapped around her in a tight skirt, bound with a gold chain. Trinkets clanked from her wrists and ankles, a slim covering of metal on her upper body.

In the middle of the crowd now she stood, so still she could have been Pandora before animation, carved from a piece of gold marble, hair strung from precious metals. Her hands were held behind her back, her head down and eyes closed, leg poised femininely, waiting.

The drums started, and her legs began to move. She kept her arms unmoving, her head still down, but her feet pranced about as if she were a sprite from some child's fairytale.

But Yuugi was enraptured when the haunting strings joined in. Her arms started to move, and her body swayed as if she were invoking the magick of some god or goddess long ago forgotten.

The dancer began to move her hands as if she were holding something fragile that might break if it were breathed upon. Her fingers tickled the empty air, shards of light responding to her beckon. Her downcast eyes concentrated on the air before her. Erotic and sensuous, yet lethal and planned. A spell was weaving about the room. None could leave, and none could remove their eyes.

Her dancing continued, the light growing larger and brighter in her hands. The music was speeding up, and the crowd was being drug right along with it. Yuugi felt his heart rate increase with anticipation.  
The air reeked with the surprise yet to come.

Faster and faster she danced, the light growing stronger and stronger.

And then she stopped, arms held high above her, toes pointed, a statue yet again.

Her hands flew down, and the ball of light she'd been working on exploded on the floor. The room was bathed in a silver illumination, filling every dark corner with a preternatural life.

When Yuugi could see again, the dancer's skin tone was now the normal pale color that belonged to most Sekeshan natives, her clothes now a white gown of some material he had never seen. Opaque and yet unrevealing, purposefully disheveled and the ends.

She looked like a colorless ice fairy who had just found her way back to her homeland.

The floor was still bathed in that silver light, rippling along its way as if it were water. And the silver woman of light began to glide across it as if it was, and she could stand on it like it was ice. It was at this point that her song began.

Low and soft at first, gradually gaining more volume. Haunting it was, but different from the drums and the strings that had just been plucked. Some language that he had never heard, filling his soul with thoughts of moonlit nights in on iced over lakes.

An invisible breeze moved her silver hair about her head, light pulled up around her as she moved.

The light on the floor splashed around her if she jumped, or twirled, or turned. Beautiful.

The instruments stopped playing. Her voice hung on one final note, ringing clear and true in the palace air. She had stopped moving, her arms up again and her back rigid. She was calling the light back to her, making it close in upon her and consume her. Just when she was almost beyond sight, she flung her arms down one last time, and the light left, showers of silver raining down upon the viewers. Her voice faded away.

The crowd exploded with applause. Yuugi was left speechless, bedazzled yet again at the talent and beauty of this world. He found himself clapping with the rest of the room. He looked over to Atemu, who in turn looked at him and winked. "Who was that," he asked bewildered.

"The High Priestess of the High Temple of Tranquility. She does this dance every year. _This_ is why people flock this way to see this, and that's why the guest list is booked every year."

"Amazing," Yuugi breathed.

Atemu chuckled. "Indeed. And now dinner is on its way."

_xxx_

Yuugi enjoyed watching the construction of the ice palace. Magi and common citizen alike were working on it at the moment, water and ice Gifted having more fun than should be expected as they allowed their talents to flow like ribbons around the exterior. They would be the ones that added more water for those who were molding blocks, or decorative elements once it was completely finished. The palace was promising this year, as this was the largest plan to date. _This _ice palace would have seven levels, rather than the usual three, and would take up over three quarters of the resident fair grounds that were but a hop and a skip away from the compound.

Atemu was enjoying himself, too. The two of them were not sitting in a chair like they did for the judged tournaments, but were in fact on their horses, and could easily move around to see different angles of the palace as it was being built.

Yuugi laughed quietly to himself, hardly able to believe that this was the seventh day of the Solstice. The days had been so busy, and so much fun, he was beside himself with what to think next. Astarte pranced around a few feet, getting a better look at a twirl an ice mage was using to make a column to hold up a doorway.

"What do you think of the ice palace," Atemu asked him.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside," Yuugi stated back, pulling a small chunk from the fresh baked bread he had in his hand and taking a bite.

"_Sire, look out! Run!_"

Yuugi turned around in the saddle when a voice behind him cried out in panic. The only thing he could see, however, was a huge set of massive jaws and extremely sharp teeth and fangs. His eyes grew wide, panic rising in his throat, but those jaws were too close to move out of the way completely. Astarte cried out in surprise, attempting to move out of the way, but Yuugi knew it was too late; there was even spit being sprayed on their forms, and the hot breath of the dragon was about to consume them. Time slowed, and Yuugi could see everything coming to an end. _Goddess, no..._

In one violent motion the head of the dragon was pushed cruelly off to the side, and once Yuugi could get his frightened mind to think coherently, he saw the dragon was dead on it's side, a shaft of buzzing shadows sticking out of it's temple. Atemu was floating just above it, energies still dancing around his hand. His face looked enraged, his muscles flexed larger than Yuugi had ever seen them. He lowered himself to the ground, running up to Yuugi. The teen got down from Astarte quickly, welcoming the embrace.

"Goddess, Yuugi, are you all right? Good heavens..." Atemu sounded just as frightened as Yuugi felt.

"I'm all right. Really. What in the seven hells happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," the Prince growled angrily. The two of them walked over to the now dead dragon on the ground. Astarte and Senke were both standing around it, Astarte pushing a tentative hoof into it's side. The dragon was dead and gone. Blood pooled out and stained the once white snow a bright red.

Yuugi and Atemu heard the sound of someone crying hysterically and sobbing miserably. They ran over to the other side of the sapphire colored dragon, and saw a young girl was lying on the ground, her hands over her head as she cried away. Yuugi attempted to walk up to her, but suddenly a Sacred horse landed in front of her, barring its teeth at the two of them. The color of the creature at first looked white, but upon closer inspection Yuugi saw that it had a light purple sheen on it. _Sweet Goddesses above, she's a newly chosen Guardian!_ He walked up to the horse with his hands up. "We're not going to hurt her," he said calmly. "We want to find out what's wrong, and what happened. We won't hurt her." The horse's ears were pressed flat against its head, but it slowly moved aside, allowing the girl to come back into view. Yuugi noticed a crowd had now gathered around them, but he ignored them as he knelt down on the snow covered ground and attempted to talk to her.

The girl's face was covered by her powder blue hair. "Miss," he said loudly. She didn't answer him. "Miss, look at me! Snap out of it!" He shook her shoulder softly, and immediately her head snapped up. Her eyes looked haunted, her expression one of pure terror and grief.

"N-no," she cried. "I...it's th-the P-Prince...I..I... oh please..." she sobbed. Tears streamed down her face.

"What happened," Yuugi pressed again.

The girl kept crying. "Ah!" She lowered her head again. Her horse moved around frantically, extremely on edge.

Something was wrong with the girl. Yuugi put his hand up to her forehead, and used his light abilities to figure out what. Healers could tell what kind of talents one had, since they could practically 'scan' the mind and body to see what was wrong.

"She's in pain," he realized. "She has...powerful empathy that has had no training, and mind speech. She's hearing the thoughts of every person in a two mile radius, and it's giving her a headache larger than Tranquility Lake. She doesn't know how to block out the noise."

Atemu knelt down next to him. "Do you think you can get her to explain what happened? She was obviously riding this dragon went it attacked you."

Yuugi nodded. He believed he could. He also knew the reason the dragon had attacked him, too. When the girl was on it, she became extremely afraid, and in her confusion actually projected her fear onto the dragon. That was why the creature went mad. Yuugi set up shields so she couldn't hear the thoughts of other around her, and used his healing to ease her fear. Her shaking calmed down a bit, and she finally looked up at him, her eyes forlorn. "What is your name," Yuugi asked her.

"K-Keylian," she gasped.

"What happened?"

"I...I don't know who did it exactly. I...I was next to the compound because there was a candy making competition and...a group of people came up behind me. I don't know who they were, but...they picked me up and threw me over a fence, and I landed on the back of the dragon. I became afraid when it took off, and...then there was this huge pain in my head..."

"How many in the group," Yuugi asked her.

She shook her head, wiping tears from her face. "I don't know for sure. Five, six maybe. I think all of them were men."

Atemu shook his head. That group sounded highly questionable. And just by chance an untrained Gifted? "This was an accident waiting to happen," he said. Yuugi nodded, agreeing with him.

"Vesa?"

Everyone looked over when a young man wearing a blue uniform came their way, his face stricken. "Vesa!" He knelt down to the dragon, holding the head in his hands. "Oh...no..." It was a Sacred dragon, and that was the Guardian that rode her. The man in blue started to cry. "I raised her since she was hatched..."

Yuugi felt horrible for the Guardian. Atemu had little choice, however. It was either Yuugi, or the dragon. The dragon was the first to go.

"My Lord!"

_What next,_ Yuugi wondered.

"My Lord! Please, we need your council!" Three men and two women rode up to them on horses that looked to be carved of ice. One of them got down and ran up to Atemu, handing him a piece of parchment that looked crinkled and bent. "We've been riding for two days, my Lord. The way points in Northern Reach are spread sparsely."

"What is the problem, Guardian?"

"Bandit raids, Sire, Northern Reach borders. We've lost three holds and six dozen fighters, eight Guardians included. We need help."

"Jono!" Atemu cried. How he knew the Calvary Sargent was in the area, Yuugi wasn't sure, but almost immediately, the blonde haired man showed up, his hand on his sword that was in its holster.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Assemble a team of two hundred soldiers and Guardians. Send them back out immediately with three of the Ice Guardians. The other two, I want you to come with me to the palace. I want to see what's been attacked exactly, who needs aid, food, and medical assistance, and assemble strategies. Now."

"Aye, Sire!" Two of the men and one of the women ran off with Jono towards the stables and soldier and Guardian housing areas. The remaining man and woman Ice Guardians waited. "Come, Yuugi," Atemu said. "We must go to the palace."

"Isis," Yuugi called. He didn't know for sure how he knew she was there, either, but she sure was. "Take Keylian to Ayana for me. She'll be the best healer at the moment." Ayana would also be able to deal with the girl's horse that looked ready to chomp someone's hand off if they so much as sneezed in Keylian's direction.

The magistrate nodded at him quickly, kneeling down to the girl to help her up.

"I don't like coincidences," Atemu stated.

"I agree," Yuugi said, " and when it rains, it pours."

_xxx_


	14. The Eve of Battle

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi looked down at the map that Atemu was heavily concentrating over. He remembered what Northern Reach was from his studies with Ayana. The section of land that jutted out into the far region of _Northis_ was probably sixty miles wide by two hundred miles long. Compared to the rest of the size of Sekesha, it was extremely small. The area was covered by ice storms nine months out of the year, and heavy rain storms the other three. The only reason it was really tended to was because of the fact that it was a haven for ice Gifted. That was the kind of weather they really enjoyed, and that was where they got the best training for their Gift possible. Any others up there that were not ice Gifted were either family members or Healers that were jealously guarded. It had been decided ages ago that it would be cruel to send Guardians up there that did not have the ice Gift themselves. After all, it would be their station for a number of years. They had to be able to stay there without going mad.

So far, the two Guardians that came with them into the palace had pointed out eleven areas on the map that had been attacked. Atemu had so far given the order for two hundred fighters to be sent up for aid. Already, however, they'd be shorting themselves, as only eighteen would be able to go to each location to help with defense and reconstruction of the damaged areas. What was really needed was an approximate of where the bandits would attack next, and just how many of them were still left.

"Our main concern, so far my Lord, is Kyanah's Hold. We believe it is the next place to be attacked," the male Guardian stated, pointing to the very center of the Northern Reach territory.

"Why so," Atemu asked. "What kind of pattern have you been noticing so far?"

"So far," the woman began, "the eleven prior Holds to be attacked held a large amount of our Healers, children, and food supplies. We believe they are after resources. Kyanah's Hold is the largest Hold we have, and has the heaviest concentration of food, Healers, livestock and family members. So far, the attacks have grown exponentially in size, as well as the amount of resources they have stolen."

Yuugi looked at the pattern carefully on the map. It wasn't complete yet, that he was certain of, but Goddesses above did it look familiar. He traced his fingers over the little black marks slowly, picturing in his mind where the next one would go. "Tell me," he asked as Atemu and the Guardians eyed him curiously, "counting the deaths, which gender has lost more?"

"Excuse me," the female Guardian asked.

"How many men have died compared to women?" Yuugi asked again.

The two ice Gifted looked at each other, clearly going through the numbers in their heads. The woman's eyes grew extremely wide. "Out of the seventy two dead, sixty of them were women."

"I knew it," Yuugi stated, seeing the pattern becoming all to clear. "They're not going to attack Kyanah's Hold. Not yet, at least. The next spot is going to be Ice Ridge. Look here, do you see?" He grabbed a stick of graphite from the table and connected the dots. Suddenly, comprehension dawned on everyone. "It's Kyanah's symbol. These aren't random attacks. These attacks are premeditated, and they have a message in mind. They hate women."

"Sweet Goddess," the woman gasped.

"Someone's behind this," Atemu growled, "someone who's got brains and a grudge that has rallied this army. These aren't bandits raids anymore, it's a call to war. And when I find out who it is, they'll be hanged before the whole city. Kehlnic, run quickly back to the stables. Tell Jono I want another three hundred sent." As he spoke, he furiously scribbled down a note on parchment, signed it, and handed it to the male ice Guardian. "I also want three hundred pounds of food shipped up there, and another two dozen Healers. Saddle up your Sacreds, for we ride tonight."

Yuugi felt a lump catch in his throat. 'We'? As in, the Prince was going with them?

The two Guardians bowed, then ran off towards the stables.

"We," Yuugi heard himself ask softly.

"Yes, Yuugi. Someone is attacking Sekesha with an evil vengeance. I will not sit idly on my throne when my people are up there dying."

Yuugi kept starring at the map that showed the almost complete design of the ice Goddess's symbol. "You're taking way points to get there, aren't you?"

"We have little choice in that matter. It would take us months to get there on foot or horseback."

Yuugi rubbed his neck apprehensively. "I'm afraid that I'm going with you."

The Prince placed his hands on Yuugi's shoulders, a saddened look in his eyes. "No. I won't let you. I'm sorry, Yuugi, but I won't put you in that danger, especially when I don't have to. Besides, I need someone back here in the Divine City."

Yuugi gave a dry chuckle. "I'm rather inclined to agree with you, love, but I'm afraid that we have little choice in the matter."

Atemu looked at him strangely. "Yuugi, what are you talking about?"

Yuugi held up his arm, where there was still a small white scar, hardly discernable from the rest of his skin tone, directly across his artery. "Remember? Wherever you go, by default, I go with you."

Atemu's face paled. "Oh, good Gods, what have I done?"

Yuugi frowned hard. "You've put both you _and_ me in the direct line of fire." He shook his head, wrapping his arms around the Prince in hug. "I've dealt with deadly enemies before. This won't be my first time. Can you say you've ever had a killer chase after you with knives that were inches from slitting your throat?"

The Prince did not respond immediately, but when he did it was a soft reply. "No."

"Well, I have. I know what to do. I've been told that my instincts are good. We'll pull through."

"But-" Atemu started.

"But what?" Yuugi asked. "There's nothing we can do about it. Are you going to revoke your word of going with them?"

"No, I couldn't do that. They need me up there."

Yuugi gave Atemu a chaste kiss. "Then _we_ ride tonight."

_xxx_

Yuugi sat back down on his bed as he gathered his things. There was a special outfit that he and Atemu would be required to wear. The temperature in Northern Reach was far below what it was in the Divine City right now. If they wanted to live, they'd have to wear garments over most of their face, gloves, special boots, and coverings for their ears underneath of their hood. The clothing could have absolutely no color in it, either. The Northern Reach was almost constantly in white out conditions. It was the ice Guardian's greatest strength up there - all of their Sacred horses were white, silver, or looked like they were carved out of ice, and impossible to see in a storm. Their enemy would have a very hard time seeing an army that was about to attack them, even if there was hundreds of them there.

There was at least one thing Yuugi wanted to take with him, for even he knew that in war one wasn't fighting every minuted of the day. He needed to keep his sanity in the midst of all of the blood that he was sure he was going to see; he put a book in his small carry pack, just a small paperback that held very little weight. It was a fantasy novel written by a Sekeshan native. Yuugi would never have been able to believe that a person could write a fantasy novel when they lived in a fantasy world themselves. He just didn't stop to think that perhaps a fantasy novel here would be considered a science-fiction novel back in Domino.

He looked up when the door to his and Atemu's room opened up, and a woman came in with a pile of clothing in her hands. Yuugi couldn't help but stare for a moment, for he did not recognize this woman. Her hair was long, straight, and a vivid gold in color. Her eyes, even though they did not look upon him, were a bright red in color. Her skin was also not extremely pale, but rather tanned. How extremely odd. "Hello," Yuugi said.

The woman bowed swiftly, then walked over to the cabinet that held their clothes. "Greetings, Sire."

"Forgive me," Yuugi started, "but have you recently come here? I'm afraid I don't recognize you."

The woman chuckled softly, closed the cabinet doors, then bowed again. "Yes, my Lord, quite new. My name is Eve."

Yuugi smiled softly. "Good to meet you, Eve."

She turned slightly worried eyes on him. "You will be careful out there, won't you my Lord? We're all quite fond of you here."

Yuugi sighed, shifting through the contents of his carry pouch to make sure he didn't forget anything. "I will. As careful as I can be, at any rate. I just wish my training was complete. I might feel a little more prepared for this."

"Forgive my bluntness, Sire, but I know from experience that all of the practice and training in the world will still leave you feeling a bit unprepared. I believe that you will do fine. Just...don't let others make you think you can't do anything."

Yuugi gave the woman a strange look. Odd for a servant to be giving him advice such as that. He sighed, however, realizing just how true those words rang. "People don't think much of my abilities due to my size and appearance, do they? If only they knew the place I grew up in."

"Yes. Perhaps. Actions always speak louder than words, my Lord. I wish you all the luck. Bring everyone, Atemu included, home safely."

Before Yuugi could comment more, she quickly bowed, then left the room. That was extremely odd. Who in the world was that woman? He was positive that he'd never seen her before. He was extremely positive. He'd ask Atemu if he knew who she was. _So weird..._

Well, his pack seemed to be complete. All he had to do was pick up his food rations, then head on out. _I'm going to die,_ he thought to himself. _How am I going to manage to pull through this? I've never been in a full blown **war** before. I can handle the one on one combat, but fighting against an army? Heaven help me..._

He grabbed his things, then headed towards the throne room. Atemu would be in there at the moment, setting a last few things on order. Isis would be in charge of the palace until they returned. Lillian would do it, were in not for her duties at the compound. Atemu's voice echoed in Yuugi's head as he headed down the hall. _Ever since the Goddesses ruled here in Sekesha, the royal family has always been knows as 'the House of the Warriors.' It has always been the royalty that went out and fought our enemies, right on the front lines with our troops. We are, in a sense, the highest ranked Guardians. It is required not by tradition, but by law, that all able bodied royalty will fight with the soldiers and Guardians. We don't have a choice. We are the strongest people born upon this earth, Yuugi, and that holds responsibilities that not many can handle. _

The strongest people born upon this earth...he was still having a hard time grasping such an idea. Yuugi was starting to learn that Sekesha had partaken in a lot of wars over the past nine thousand years, as well. Most of them were with their long time rival country, Queschtal, the male-centric society that believed in only one god, and it was not Senke. That country had tried for thousands of years to gain land from Sekesha, their ultimate hopes of shutting down the goddess-worshiping country always crushed with each new battle.

But Queschtal was over two thousand miles south of the Divine City, and Northern Reach was nearly a thousand miles north. The likely hood that it was Queschtal attacking was slim.

His thoughts were cut short as he reached the throne room doors, opened them up and hurriedly walked in. Atemu was leaning over a desk with Isis, going over some documents quickly. Shoved off to the side was a pile of white clothing, crumpled up and unfolded. "I'm here," Yuugi stated.

Atemu spared him a quick glance. "Good. We have to leave for the stables shortly. Out horses will be ready. I want to leave with the army before nightfall.

"How will all of us fit onto a way point," Yuugi asked curiously.

Atemu shifted the papers around in front of him, placing his signature on some, and others tossing off to the side. "We're bypassing the way points. Lillian will be able to make a portal for us. It's one of her specialties."

"Hm."

The Prince scribbled one last thing down, then dropped the quill. "All done, Isis. Keep the fort down while we're gone."

"Of course, your Highness."

Atemu grabbed the pile of clothing. "Let's get dressed, love. We don't have much time."

Yuugi nodded, still apprehensive about the whole ordeal. "Let's get ready."

"My Lord?"

Yuugi and Atemu looked over when a Guardian in white came stumbling up their way, carrying a woman in his hands that had white hair and wore a black cape.

"What is the meaning of this?" Atemu asked.

"I'm sorry," the Guardian apologized, still holding the unconscious woman. "We've been riding for over a week now. The Byron family is after this woman. She's a newly chosen Guardian, and they won't give her up. She was supposed to marry the son, Delyle, but he won't stop chasing her."

"What happened to her," Yuugi asked.

"She endured the _Last Strike_ of a rogue magi."

"Good heavens, why isn't she dead yet?" Atemu asked, bewildered.

"Because her horse took most of the blow. It died. Her new Sacred is at the stables right now. She needs a healer immediately."

Atemu looked over to Isis, who nodded. "Don't worry, my Lord. I'll take care of it."

"Good. Come on, Yuugi, we have to hurry."

"Agreed," he replied.

_xxx_

Atemu stuck his foot into the stirrup of Senke's saddle, hoisting himself up. Snow had started to softly fall upon the city. Mage lights littered the sky and ground, lighting up everything. From the stables, the faint glow of the still unfinished ice palace could be made out against the sky line. Senke snorted loudly, stamping his foot on the ground in annoyance. Atemu couldn't help but laugh at his horse. "You'd better get used to the charm. You're going to be stuck with it until we get home." Senke snorted again.

Due to the weather and violent conditions they were heading into, Senke had to have a charm put on him so his coat looked white, rather than a stark black. He would stick out far too much in the snow storm. At least now, he couldn't be seen.

The clothing the Prince wore was completely and entirely white. The good thing about the rather plain attire was the fact that the leather on the outside was covered in imprints of vines and royal symbols. The inside was lined with the same material that his clothing was made out of for the Race of Lights. The only part of his body that was exposed was his eyes, as a specially made mask formed around his face, and tied in the back of his head. There would be no snow or ice getting inside of his clothing. All of the other soldiers and Guardians that were not ice Gifted wore the same thing. Only the ice Gifted dressed as if it were a chilly autumn day. All of the Sacred had also been charmed to look white as well. _None_ of them would be seen. _None._

A loud and excited neigh echoed down the stable isle. The Prince watched as Astarte bounded out, looking as ethereal as ever in her white saddle, her rider wearing the same clothing as he was. The only thing that stuck out was Yuugi's extremely bright amethyst eyes. They seemed to act as a prism as light entered them, glowing with a life all their own. Yuugi chuckled softly, pulling his horse to a stop. "Easy, girl, we're not at the battle field yet."

One of the soldiers walked by them, his sword freshly sharpened. He stopped suddenly, noticing the silver band that was barely visible on Yuugi' forehead, which was covered by his form-fitting hood. "Lord Yuugi," he asked skeptically.

"Yes," Yuugi asked him, averting his gaze from Atemu to the soldier.

"You're coming with us," he asked, sounding in disbelief.

"Yes," Yuugi stated, his voice suddenly a bit harsher. "If it's of any comfort to you, where I came from I slept with a rusty blade under my pillow every night. It was rusty because it was consequently used quite frequently." Without waiting for a reply, Yuugi cried a harsh '_hya!'_ and Astarte ran the rest of the way to meet up with the Prince.

Atemu had a hard time placing the mystery that was now around Yuugi. The thought of battle seemed to change his demeanor entirely. Yuugi no longer looked lost in a foreign land; he looked determined to keep his life. For Yuugi, this was familiar ground. He knew how to deal with this. Atemu, however, was on extremely unfamiliar ground. He'd never seen war before, even though he'd had extensive training from masters all over Sekesah and beyond. The techniques he knew of were unrivaled by many combatants, and he had strategies in his mind that had left armies of thousands begging upon their knees.

But he'd never put any of it to use before.

Whilst Yuugi, however, not only didn't have much training, but he'd survived horrid circumstances without the training. How would he do now that he did have at least _some_ training? How would his new knowledge enhance his ability to fight? "Are you ready, love," Atemu asked him.

Yuugi looked over at him keenly. It was almost frightening to see Yuugi pull a sword out of a holster, examine it, then put it back. "Sword, food, horse, yeah, I think I'm ready."

The Prince sighed, resolute in knowing what they had to do. He pulled Senke around, and starting running the in front of the front lines. Soldiers and guardians started lining up. "Warriors," the Prince shouted loudly. "Are you ready?"

A deafening cheer rose up to answer his question.

"Someone is killing off our women and Guardians in Northern Reach. They are killing our people! Pillaging our land! Kidnaping our children! Shall we stand for it?"

Yuugi watched as swords and spears and bursts of ice and random Gift energy rose in the air, the cries of the army angry.

"So be it! They have war on the palate, let us meet them and quench what they seek! We will give them a war! Warriors of Sekesha, we ride!"

The cries were, if possible, louder than before. Every man and woman alike had a horse to ride. Guardians their Sacred, the soldiers regular horses that had also been charmed to look white. There were even a good dozen Guardians that were on dragons, all of them also white. If they were that way naturally, or if they'd been charmed, Yuugi wasn't sure, but it was a magnificent sight to see an entire body of fighters, all in white. He could feel the anger burning brightly in their hearts, eager to deal out justice to the ones that were attacking the Northern Reach lands.

A brilliant flash of light flared behind him, and Yuugi turned around, seeing that Lillian had created a portal for them. It was massive, perhaps a hundred feet long and two hundred feet high. The dragons would easily be able to fly through, and the army could ride through in less than minutes.

This was it. Into the land of ice.

Yuugi suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten to ask Atemu about the servant that had come into their room. He rode up to the Prince quickly. "Atemu," he asked.

"Yes?"

"Out of curiosity, do yo know of the servant woman named Eve? She has blonde hair and red eyes. I've never noticed her before."

Crimson eyes looked at him curiously. "Yuugi, there is no servant in the palace by the name of Eve. Eve is the shortened name of Eternity, the Sun Goddess."

_xxx_


	15. A Single Breath

**Dripping Wings**

A curtain of snow lay before him. The mane of Astarte blended almost painfully well with the glittering flakes, and he couldn't even see her head. The night around them was dark and clouded in white. Their only light shimmered from the light gifted that came along, himself included. It was amazing to see himself glowing as he was. Little did he realize how impressive of a sight it was for the warriors behind him; their ruler-to-be was shining like the goddesses would do, leading the way for them next to their Prince. The aura of authority around him had been tripled with his new white attire, his pure white Sacred, and his light guiding them and leading them down a darkened path off to war. Yuugi wasn't sure when the last time had been that sunlight touched this earth. Three months? Four months? A year?

The troops behind them were as silent as a calm breath. The dragons had disappeared seemingly ages ago. Atemu was a silent phantom next to him, Senke's shimmering mane rivaling that of the mare next to him. Despite their

silence, however, they were moving swiftly. The pace of the Sacred horses as they stormed through the forest was so smooth it was hard to tell they were actually running. It wouldn't be long before they reached Ice Ridge.

He reflected upon what the Prince had told him earlier. _Eve is the shortened name of the Goddess Eternity. There are in fact very few who know this, but the goddesses have names that they use when they reveal themselves here on earth; aliases that no one else will recognize them by. Just as Tranquility is called Senehle, and Divinity is called Dvinah. Only the royal archives hold the names that they have used. And this omen warms my heart, for it is a sign that this is what we are both supposed to do._

So, he saw a goddess. And what was more - he saw one of the Divine Sisters. The Sacred Trinity of the Heavens. _And she said that 'we're all quite fond of you here.' She must have been talking about the other goddesses. Do they really favor me as everyone else has guessed? _Yuugi was feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment. Goddesses appearing before him, war ahead, and traveling through a land that all but ice lovers had forsaken. Who in their right mind would attack a land comprised of nothing but ice and snow? What could be up here that was so important it warranted them striking up an impromptu war? It just didn't seem right. It didn't _feel_ right. Yuugi looked over to the Prince next to him. Those bright blood red eyes were narrowed as they peered out into the blizzard, and, after being so close to him for so long now, Yuugi could see the intense worry etched within those clouded orbs of red. The gnawing in his stomach, he knew, was shared by Atemu as well. But what to do about it? They'd be fighting by the break of dawn, if not by sometime the next evening.

He clenched the hilt of the sword hanging at his side. Sweet Goddess, he hoped they'd be okay. He hoped he'd stay alive...if he could manage.

Lights off in the distance began to shimmer just slightly. Astarte quickened her pace, eager to reach their destination. Lilian had done a smart move; portals were incredibly easy to trace, as the amount of magick required to create a portal was huge. An enemy, even a lowly mage, could track the place they exited, which would lead them straight to the Hold. Lilian had dropped them off about four miles north of Ice Ridge, which was closer to Kyanah's hold than it was Ice Ridge. If the enemy was tracking their moves, which they most likely were, they'd reason that whoever came through that portal was on their way to the center of Northern Reach, and the largest Hold in the region. They'd show up at Ice Ridge and not expect to find an army there ready and waiting for them.

The lights started to gain more form as they drew ever closer. Yuugi could just start to make out a wall of ice as it glowed in the lights form from mage energy, acting as a barrier around the Hold itself. He looked up, seeing a tall cliff reaching far up into the sky, unable to see where it ended as it was lost amidst the snowfall. The wall stretched out from the cliff that jutted up into the sky, wrapping around to the other side and encasing the inhabitants inside safely.

They called this a Hold? Yuugi thought it looked more like a fortress. He couldn't even see the Ice Guardians that were on patrol on top of the icy wall, but he knew they were there.

Their entourage stopped at the center of the wall of ice. He could hear a voice call out from somewhere above him.

"_Who goes down there!" _a male voice bellowed.

"His Royal Highness Prince Atemu and his Betrothed Lord Yuugi! His Highness and his First Royal Battalion are here on the behalf of war!" a herald next to them stated loudly. Yuugi tucked away the thought that it was weird having a spokesperson.

"_The Prince!" _the voice above asked bewildered. _"Bloody hell! Open the gates!" _

The wall of solid ice split open suddenly, the door that was actually there coming into barely discernable view as it opened up for them, just wide enough to allow ten bodies abreast to walk in. They were being extremely cautious.

It took nearly ten minutes, but eventually the whole battalion filtered in to the Hold.

A woman with long, icy blue hair and pale skin rode up swiftly on her Sacred that also appeared to be carved out of ice, her face a mixture of importance and confusion. Yuugi and Atemu rode on their horses and met her half way. Once they stopped, she lowered her head respectfully, then lifted it up again. "Your Highness," she asked confused, "what on earth are you doing here? Why aren't you at Kyanah's Hold? That's where the next at-"

Atemu held up his hand, silencing her. "No time for questions now, my Lady, we have to get ready. I want to meet with you and the rest of the Ice Ridge Council in five minutes in your main hall."

Still confused, she nodded, then looked off to her right. "Sehmehleh! Set up the troops with our temporary housing! Get the resources in order! We've got work to do!"

There were minimal grumbles as people started to scurry about, setting to work at the tasks ahead. Atemu nudged Senke to follow the woman that had greeted them, and Yuugi followed suite. They trotted through the Hold, different buildings slipping past them, the doorways glowing with lights that flickered in the snow. They stopped in front of a particularly large building, placed directly under the shadow of the huge cliff that loomed above them. Atemu dismounted, as did the woman, and Yuugi did likewise, just now noticing that Jono was still with them. The Cavalry Captain would definently need to hear what they were planning to do.

The Sacred stamped their hooves and snorted as their riders walked into the building.

Yuugi pulled down his hood and untied his face mask once they were inside. Atemu did likewise, as did Jono. Only the Ice gifted were dressed as if it were simply a chilly autumn day, their faces open, their hair down, and a simple cloak. Yuugi could only shake his head, knowing that he'd freeze to death.

The hallway they were in was covered in murals of winter forests and buildings of ice. The floor was tiled, but the rooms that were off to their left and right were carpeted in a soft blue carpet. They entered a large room, a big table greeting them that was surrounded by many chairs. Yuugi and Atemu seated themselves at the head of the oval shaped table, placing their discarded masks in front of them. The woman and Jono bowed deeply before seating themselves. "The rest of the Council has been informed of your arrival, my Lord, and will be here momentarily," the woman stated. She was seated at the opposite end of them. Atemu nodded his approval, then sat silent.

Yuugi tried not to fidget as he sat there, a set of cold blue eyes upon him curiously. He'd never been seen outside of the Divine City, and probably heard about even less. He was sure that the woman was curious about him. He had guessed by now she was the Head of Council here at Ice Ridge. Jono didn't bother to stare. Not only did he know Yuugi, but Yuugi was sure that he didn't have the personality to stare at someone, no matter who they were.

Footsteps echoed down the hall as people headed their way. Ice Guardians began to filter into the room, all of them also in white cloaks, their skin fair and their faces solemn. They gathered around the table seemingly simultaneously, bowed lowly in his and Atemu's direction, then sat down.

"Greetings, my Lords, and welcome to Ice Ridge. I am the Head of Council, Kyehna. However, I'm afraid that we are short on formalities this evening. Please, tell us why you are here and not elsewhere where it is believed the help needs to be."

"Formalities will have to be shorter still," Atemu stated. "As the situation has gone from bad to worse. Jono, will you show them the map?"

The Cavalry Captain stood, pulled the rolled up parchment out of a pouch at his side, and unrolled it for all to see.

"These attacks are taking on the form of Kyanah's symbol. They have been premeditated, planned, and targeted. Ice Ridge is next on the map. We have come up here to stop this war before it turns into a larger disaster than it has already become. We must plan for battle."

"Do you have any idea when they will attack?" Kyehna asked, her pale face losing what little color it had.

"The Ice Guardian Kehlnic informed us that the attacks have been occurring three to four days apart. From what we've been told, the last attack, which was at Hold Behneleh, was two days ago," Yuugi spoke up. The Council looked up at him, appearing to accept his authority.

"Then we have a lot of work to do," a different Council member stated, looking at the map hard. "And it has to be done fast."

"Assemble our Guardians and soldiers and set them up with the First Battalion that arrived. Get our healers together, and store the food that was brought along. Take the remaining family members and move them further into the Hold. Strengthen the defenses and send another dozen watchers and spies out into the forest to watch for the enemy lines. Everyone, you know what to do, get moving." The Council stood up and headed off in different directions after Kyehna finished speaking. Atemu stood, and Yuugi took that as the cue to stand up as well. Jono stood up with them.

"Status report in three hours," Atemu stated. "Until then, you can find us in the war room."

Kyehna bowed. "Very well, your Highness." With that, she turned and left the room.

"I'm going to go and check on the troops, Sire. I might not be back for a while," Jono stated, standing up as he did so.

"It's all right, Jono. I'll send for you if I need you," Atemu stated.

Yuugi's gut felt like it was squeezed to the point of bursting. "Atemu," Yuugi asked.

"Yes love?"

"Were you planning on leaving me in here when the enemy finally arrived?"

Those deep red eyes looked at him for a long moment, the resolve in them slowly beginning to ebb. "Yes Yuugi. If something happened to you out there...I..."

"What am I supposed to do in here?" Yuugi asked. "And what do I do if something happens to you out there?"

"Yuugi, I'll be fine," Atemu pressed.

"Oh, bullshit, Atemu! All of the training in the world won't prepare you for real combat. _I've_ had real experience! I have to go out there to help watch _your_ back! How can I heal you when I'm stuck in here!"

The Prince was momentarily taken aback. Yuugi had never cussed at him before. However, once again, Yuugi was pushing for his freedom, and for more responsibility.

"What do I do if you die out there, Atemu? What will happen to me?" Yuugi asked, holding up his arm that held the faint bond scar.

"I...it'll hurt. It could even kill you."

"And what will everyone think, if you die out there and they find me dead in here? What will that leave them to think?" He watched as the Prince's face fell. Yuugi knew Atemu didn't have the heart to get angry at him, or raise his voice. However, he so desperately did not want Yuugi to fight. "I will not sit in here when I know what to do out there." It nearly broke Yuugi's heart to see the despair on the Prince's face, but he couldn't give up his resolve.

"All right, Yuugi. I won't make you do otherwise."

Yuugi walked up to Atemu, wrapped his arms around him tightly, and kissed him. "I love you," he whispered in the Prince's ear. "If I didn't, I wouldn't want to be out there with you."

"I know, my love. I know."

_xxx_

Dawn broke. Morning sunlight began to spill over the horizon, trying desperately to pierce through the still falling snow. It was windy, and it was cold.

Deathly cold.

Yuugi and Atemu were in a temporary building that was set up towards the entrance of the Hold. It was serving as a make-shift war room. The Prince was signing documents and regulating troop lines, whilst Yuugi had been nearly forced to nap for a while, as he had been up for nearly a full twenty four hours. He was up now, however, looking over a map with Atemu, Jono, and Kyehna. They had an idea the direction the enemy would be coming from, but they weren't sure, and they were currently speculating on the amount of time it would be before whoever it was attacking Northern Reach would reach the front gate. They were expecting by nightfall, at the earliest, or by the dawn of the next day.

"Your Highness!" A voice could be heard calling the Prince from the outside. "Your Highness!"

"Enter!" Atemu roared.

A Guardian burst into the room, snowflakes billowing around her as she stumbled in and shut the door. "The enemy, Sire! Not but a league south of here and heading this way! Scouts sighted nearly a hundred and fifty men armed to the teeth! They come!"

Yuugi was already putting on his face cover and hood as Atemu barked out instructions. "Assemble the ranks! We meet them outside of the Hold. The battle will not be fought in here!"

The Guardian turned and fled from the room, her white cape billowing out behind her as the wind reentered the room. Atemu turned, picking up his own mask as Yuugi buckled his sword to his waist. "They're early." He paused for a moment, giving his lover a long look. "I love you Yuugi."

Yuugi smiled, but it wasn't seen by the protective covering over his face. "We will make love when this is all over."

The Prince smiled as well, but his brief grin was also not seen. "You'd better count on it."

Composing themselves as much as they could, they slipped on their gloves and headed out the door. The outside was a frenzy of activity. People in white were running around everywhere, frantic and determined. Before Yuugi or Atemu could move any further, Senke and Astarte barreled up to them, their hooves sounding like bells as they clanked on the ice covered ground. They mounted without a second thought, grabbing the reins and heading towards the Hold's entrance.

"Sire!" Jono was on his Sacred, pulling on the reins as he attempted to slow down the eager war horse. "Sire, the enemy is perhaps a hundred staves away. Everyone is in position, we're just waiting on your call."

Atemu nodded. "Once we exit the Hold, these walls are going to be sealed, unable to be opened until Sehmehleh alone reopens them on them on the signal. Are we ready?"

"Anytime," the Cavalry Captain replied.

"Hya!" They all cried, and their Sacreds sped out of the partially opened ice wall.

Yuugi knew what they were doing. They still had the element of surprise. Their army was hiding on either side of the hold, just beyond sight of the southern route the enemy was taking to get there. Atemu would ride out once they reached them, and demand that they give up the fight. (In Yuugi's opinion, that silly custom was simply ridiculous.) After they refused, the Prince would call the fighters up in an ambush, and the battle would begin.

Yuugi was glad he hadn't eaten anything that morning, for his stomach was all in knots, and would have surely pushed out whatever food he had eaten. Astarte snorted as she ran up the hill that was hiding one half of the troops, Jono's Sacred next to her. She stood still than stone once they stopped, her head held high. Yuugi was proud of her for her bravery in this situation. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Stay strong for me, Astarte. I need you in this fight."

Her neigh was soft, barely a grumble, but Yuugi knew it was a noise of affirmation, and felt comforted. He sat back up again, and waited.


	16. Scarlet

**Dripping Wings**

The deep breath before the icy plunge.

Everyone was still, silent, and tense. Even their mounts were hesitant to swish their tails as icy flakes of snow stabbed at their skin. Yuugi had a hard time sucking in each and every painful breath, anticipation and fear seizing a tight hold on his muscles. It had been quiet now for well over ten minutes, and still no signal yet to attack. He didn't know how much longer he could wait. He turned his head, barely managing the feat, and saw that Jono's expression was unreadable. How did he look like a seasoned war veteran, and yet have such perfect skin, and no injuries? Hadn't Atemu said that there hadn't been any wars in Sekesha for nearly a hundred years?

His thoughts were paused, for at that moment the earth began to quake. A scream reached them from beyond the hill, and a lightning bolt of black energy raced into the sky. Yuugi barely realized that. It was actually going _into_ the sky. That was it. It was their signal.

Taking a deep breath that seemed to last longer than it did, Yuugi released a guttural cry along with the others around him, his frustration and tension at having to wait released, his fear vocalized, drew his sword, and plunged into battle. Astarte ran at breathtaking speed, reaching the top of the hill and revealing the land below, now turned gray and black with the rag-tag army that was below them. Somehow, even though snow and sleet and tears were streaming down his face, his senses were immaculately clear, and he could see that they hadn't looked like they'd bathed in days, their teeth were decayed, and they looked angry. So very, _very_ angry. _Show no mercy, for you shall receive none in return._

His heart felt like it would shatter as the armies collided, and Astarte cried out as powerfully as he did, if not more so, as simultaneously she struck at enemies with her hooves, and Yuugi with his sword. Red soaked into white and blood fell into the snow. Noises and screams and the clanking of metal on metal and of animals and men thumping on the ground were the dominant sounds. If Yuugi wasn't concentrating on saving his own life, he would have cried and sobbed and run for the safety of the Eternal Palace.

They fought and fought, no change seeming to take place on the field. How long could this go on? An hour? Two? Three?

Not nearly. The crowd had finally thinned, half an hour's worth of slaughter now feeling like merely a few minutes. Yuugi could see off to his left, Atemu on Senke, his clothing and his Sacred's coat covered in splotches of red. And out of the corner of his eye, a streak of white and yellow and red caught his attention. _No..._

"Atemu!" He cried, turning Astarte around sharply and bounding his way. "Look out from above!" How he could tell the difference from one white warrior to another, he didn't know, but deep down he just knew that it was the Prince, and an arrow of fire was heading his way.

The Prince turned just in time to snuff out the flames with shadows, but more were on the way. Yuugi suddenly realized what lay beyond the rise of land. _There are more._

The Prince called out swift commands, and the ranks began to regroup. The second strike of the battle. "Gifted ready!" Atemu bellowed. He held his hand up, waiting. "Gifted ready!" he called again, then cried, "Release!" He shot his arm forward.

Plumes of ice, fire, water, electricity, frozen earth, light, shadows, and glowing beams of energy flew over their heads towards the source of the arrows. A cry from above alerted Yuugi to the fact that the dragons where blowing the arrows away with their fire and the pumping of air with their wings. Cries reached their ears. Many of the attacks had hit home.

"Gifted ready! Release!"

Yuugi sent a flame of shadows and a separate flare of light at the enemy, picturing it hitting a large amount of the nasty creatures they were fighting and rendering them useless.

Finally, after another three calls for Gifted magick, a great cry behind them caused the back of the army to turn. Yuugi turned his head, seeing an ambush from the rear coming up upon them. _Where are they all coming from?_ He was towards the front, and saw to his horror another group from whence the flaming arrows had come from, and saw another group on the attack. _But how...?_ _No! Stop!_ Yuugi shook his head. He couldn't panic. If they had the element of surprise right now, that's exactly what they wanted him to do. An idea flooded his mind, and Yuugi knew in his heart it's what he had to do. "Warriors, _eyehnestah!_" He cried. How he knew this word, he wasn't sure, but 'follow' was the best command he could come up with, and said in their sacred language would cause immediate reactions.

Astarte turned and ran between the two armies attacking them, coming out on the other side, where the enemy would have to form a new line to get to her. The rest of their warriors that could followed him. They lined up at his side. "Two lines!" He bellowed, holding up his arms. "Attack from the side! Weaken their lines! Gifted ready!" He waited briefly for them to align themselves. " Release!"

Angry energy from both sides of him flew to the sides of the enemy lines, crumbling a part of them, and allowing the Sekeshan warriors that were in between some breathing room. "Gifted ready! Release!" The same effect as before.

Before Yuugi's eyes, he watched the masses move about in a strange way. The rest of the red and white riders were now heading in the opposite direction of the way he had ran. The crumpled and now confused lines of the enemy were now, strangely...in the middle. _How in the world did that happen? _It seemed they were merely pulled there after the Sekeshan army vacated the space. He almost cried, but mainly with pride, for at that moment he saw Atemu facing him, Gifted behind him, and ready to strike. Somehow, they had trapped the enemy in their own ambush. _Were it not for the fact that there is a slope in front of Ice Ridge's gate, we would have all been doomed. The enemy trapped themselves in, now sloping hills on either side, and an army at both exists. _

Several flashes of light and energy later, and it was all over.

Astarte picked her way carefully across the battlefield, blood dripping down her pronounced muscles. Her mane sagged beneath the massive weight of the thick, rapidly freezing liquid. Yuugi felt his movements constrained as the blood froze on his clothing. He was suddenly very tired, and in no mood to talk to anyone. Victory or not, this was not what he called 'good' in any meaning of the term.

"Yuugi," a voice spoke softly next to him. He saw that Atemu was now close to him, Senke looking tired but alert.

"Atemu."

"Yuugi, how on earth did you...?"

"Did I know? I didn't know that you would do that. It was just...if felt like the right thing to do. I know, I could have gotten all of us killed. I could have truly messed everything up, I..." The Prince silenced him by brushing his Sacred up to Astarte, bringing them close enough to put his hand on Yuugi's shoulder.

"No, that's not what I meant. What I want to know is, how did you know I would be doing that too?"

He shook his head, feeling the cold seeping down into his bones. "I didn't."

The Prince nodded, seemingly to himself, apparently satisfied about something. "How do you suppose you knew the word '_eyehnestah_'?"

"I...don't know..."

"I think our bond is becoming more useful than either of us thought it would."

The statement made so much sense to him, it felt like a ton of bricks smacking him in the face. He should have known those bricks were there, and now felt rather stupid for having not seen them. "I... woah. Weird."

The Prince laughed. "Come, love. After some sleep, we have to ride south to Turehnemay Hold. The next attack is there."

"Oh, fun times ahead..."

"Yuugi, I'm not sure that you realize that the both of us just pulled what we like to call a 'Shield and Carry.'"

Yuugi gave the Prince a funny look. "What are you talking about?"

"The magick that was in that word that you called put up a shield, so that the enemy could not get any closer to you. However, they couldn't move any further away either. The moment you, and then myself, moved out of the middle of the battlefield, it drug in the enemy along even if they wanted to go in or not. The magick trapped them where they were drug to."

He nodded. "I had wondered how that worked out so well." He shivered, and Astarte vocalized her discomfort in the cold.

"I think it best we retire for a few hours, then head out again," Atemu stated.

Yuugi, however, was getting close to falling asleep already.

Yuugi was warm, and felt a rebellion stirring in his belly at the thought of moving. Atemu was wrapped around him, the body heat that seemed so overwhelming in the summer now strangely not warm enough in their bed. Their sleep would be coming to an end soon enough, and they would have to lead the troops south to the next Hold. He was not looking forward to battle again. He did not care to go out and have himself once again covered in blood from head to toe and stinking like a rotting corpse. The inhabitants of Ice Ridge were grateful the army had shown up when they did, after seeing the aftermath of the battle out front. And although they did their best to vocalize as such to Yuugi and the Prince before they settled in for their nap, neither heard much, and hid away in their make-shift royal bathing suite, which was actually the public bathing and steam house in the Hold Hall. (Yuugi equated this to being a sort of city hall, but on a much smaller scale.)

Atemu was stirring, grunting as instincts were telling he'd have to rise. Yuugi cried a little inside. He did not want to rise yet. Nor did he want to exercise the brain power it would take to figure out what mad-mind was behind these attacks to begin with.

"It's time to get up, love."

"No it's not. Sleep."

He received a slightly firmer squeeze in return. "I'm sorry. We could sleep, but a few hundred more people could be dead by the time we get up."

Yuugi sighed hard. "You had to play the guilt-trip card, didn't you?" He sighed, still refusing to open his eyes. "I'm so tired…"

"I know, as am I."

"I hate feeling this kind of tired. It's not good. It makes me want to sleep for years, hide away, and no matter how deep I sleep I'm still sore."

A kiss to his forehead. "We can only pray that this will all be over soon. We need to mobilize the troops and head out for another march, though. Turehnemay Hold is nearly an hour south."

"Then we'd better get dressed, I suppose. I assume that the Sacreds were cleaned as well as we were."

Atemu chuckled. "Perhaps even more so. Up here, the Sacreds are vital companions, viewed as equal or above the status as that of the humans."

Yuugi hummed in thought, understanding how that could happen. Astarte had already come to mean so much to him, and he didn't even rely on her year round to help protect him from freezing weather and harsh living conditions.

"Come on, love. We have little time."

"I know. Another battle on the way. I wonder how many more will come."

Atemu shook his head, lifting his weight up from the bed. "I don't know. We'll have to kill them all off eventually. Our casualties from this battle are still unknown to me, but I have a feeling they were slim. I'm hoping that they will continue to be low, and the enemy high. At that rate, what will their leader have left to send us?"

Yuugi ran a hand through his hair. "I'm starting to feel like a butcher."

Before he realized it, Atemu was in front of him and holding him tightly. "_No._"

Yuugi looked up at him confused. "What?"

"_No,"_ Atemu repeated. "_Never_ think of yourself as such. We are defending ourselves. We are not _attacking_ them. Nor are we getting paid as a butcher would be paid. This is costing the Crown hundreds of thousands of elemens." (Yuugi learned this was the standard currency of Sekesha.) "Remorse only in the act of needing to kill, and no more.

Yuugi took pause, having not taken into consideration the costs before. "Be sad I have to kill, but don't regret it, because if we didn't do this we'd end up killing ourselves in our inaction."

This Prince nodded. "Yes, Yuugi. You're not a butcher, or anything that has to do with the act of butchering another human being. You're a Guardian, now. Every ruler has been a Guardian for as long as time can remember. You muscn't confuse that with other things."

Yuugi looked up at Atemu questioningly. "Every one? You never mentioned that before. Or if you have, I didn't quite realize what it meant."

"Yuugi, I don't think I ever told you the story of my family before, have I?"

He shook his head. "No. I'd love to hear it."

Atemu sighed. "Well, it's a long story, and also one that needs pictures. In short, we're known as the 'Fighting Family.' When Sekesha was small and under threat, it was the royal family that went out to battle, for they were the only ones with Gifts strong enough to defend the country. To this day the royal bloodline holds the strongest Magi in the country, and quite possibly the world without sounding haughty."

Yuugi chuckled. "Anything that entails something akin to bragging could be considered haughty, but I'll excuse it. Only because I love you."

Atemu laughed. "Oh, is that the only reason?" He ticked Yuugi quickly, pinning him to the bed. "I'll tell you the rest of our history when we get back to the Palace. The Hall of Remembrance will be an interesting trip for the both of us."

"The Hall of What now?"


	17. WhiteOut

Yuugi tried not to stare at the pain in Atemu's eyes as they walked the line of the dead. The losses were larger than the Prince had anticipated.

"Two hundred," Atemu whispered for the fifth time. "Two hundred dead." He shook his head, his mouth groping for appropriate words, but he came up with nothing. That look in his eyes made Yuugi's heart clench, and a pain he never felt before squirmed down into his stomach and made him feel sick. He hated seeing his lover like this.

And it was even more heartbreaking to see Sacreds slumped on the ground, dead.

All dead.

Once their life had left them, their bodies returned back to their natural color. As their life force was gone, there was nothing to sustain the magick. It was a rainbow of colors on the ground. Everything from red to green and white and blue. Coats of metallic silver and gold and purple were splattered and splotched with dried, frozen blood. Dragon wings were placed next to the respective owners, as they had somehow been torn off during the battle. Some people were on the ground crying, their Sacred lifeless next to them. Even worse, there were some Sacreds standing vigilant guard over their dead Guardian.

And the cries of anguish. It was overwhelming. The Guardian/Sacred partnership was joined at something deeper than a mutual partnership. It was a bond that they shared, and even though no one had ever looked into it, it was believed that a magick stronger and more profound than any knew of linked the Guardians to their respective horse or dragon.

The army itself was silent, as most armies are that are victorious and standing in a pile of corpses. But the Guardians were in pain. All totaled, there were hundred and thirty four men and women from the army dead, and sixty six Guardians and Sacreds dead or grieving.

Kyehna walked up next to Yuugi and the Prince, her face somber. "You need to ride, your Highnesses," she spoke quietly. "We'll take care of the dead, and the grieving. Go to Turehnemay Hold. Keep this from happening to our kindred. They are a larger Hold than us, and will have more men and women to spare to fight."

Atemu nodded, forcing himself to ignore the pain in his heart. He'd deal with his emotions later. "Good luck. Contact the Divine City for help, if you need it. The Priestess will be able to make a portal for you, so it'll be easier to get the dead and wounded back."

The Head of Council nodded.

Yuugi followed the Prince's lead as they mounted their horses. Astarte was tense and fidgety, unable to stand still for too long. It sent a course of discord through his system, causing him to be nervous for what was to come. Animals had foresight, even if it was a minimal amount on a purely instinctual level. Yuugi knew that Astarte was sensing something, and he felt insane dread for the first time since coming up to Northern Reach.

"Jono," Atemu spoke up, seeing the Cavalry Captain next to him. "We need more men. Send word to the Priestess to send a thousand troops up, at least four hundred of them dragon riding Guardians. Have them meet us half way to Turehnemay Hold."

"Aye, Sir." The Captain and his horse rode off back into the Hold.

The Prince nudged his horse, who then started off at a fast trot to the Hold gates. Yuugi followed as well, Astarte glad that she could move some more. She was making Yuugi extremely tense, especially when she would whine every now and again very softly. "Shh," he soothed. "It'll be all right."

She snorted at him. He knew she wouldn't believe him, but he had to try, at least for himself.

Atemu rode up to the waiting soldiers and Guardians that were standing in line. There were only three hundred left. Just three... He shook his head. He couldn't sink to grief. He had to keep going. "Warriors!" he cried. "You have done well. Scouts report, however, that more of the enemy is on its way to Turehnemay Hold, the maternity house of Northern Reach! These men will slaughter children, both born and unborn! Women and men and families will be ripped apart! Will you let this happen?"

They rose their voices up in unison in anger. Yuugi was sure he could make out a few 'no's' and 'hell no's'. Their confidence helped ease his worried heart just a little.

"More shall join our ranks. We will not be outnumbered!"

Another cry, this time of relief and excitement. That seemed to put the drive back in the soldiers.

"We ride!"

_xxx_

Yuugi sat in his saddle, looking at the shimmering icy gates of the next Hold they had come to. Turehnemay was huge, possibly four times the size of Ice Ridge. According to Atemu, this Hold held the largest concentration of Healers, and therefore most women traveled to this Hold when they were ready to give birth. The maternity ward had its own very large building, which was quite an honor in a place with limited supplies.

The new troops from the Divine City did indeed meet up with them half way to the Hold. They now had thirteen hundred fighters, a thousand of them fresh.

Yuugi just hoped that they _wouldn't_ be outnumbered.

There was a lot of noise just inside of the gates. Yuugi wondered what was going on, as he could just see a throng of people between the gates. "What's going on?" he asked the Prince.

"I'm not sure..."

Trumpets sounded their arrival. "Welcome, my Lords!" An ice Guardian ran up to them on his horse, calling out the greeting. "We have been expecting you! I bid you welcome to Turehnemay Hold. I am Aerune, Deputy Head of Council. I'm afraid that the Mrs. is busy right now with a delivery. She'll be here to meet you soon."

Yuugi took note of the man's appearance. He had long, pale blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and wore flowing capes and garments of silver. Yuugi marveled at how fine his features were on his face, and his smile was astonishingly bright. And if he was only the Deputy Head of Council, then the Head of Council _must_ have been the 'Mrs.' he was referring to. _Basically, his wife. He's married to the Head of Council. And apparently, she's helping a woman to give birth at the moment._

"We are glad to be here," Atemu replied.

"We do have a bit of a surprise for you," the ice Guardian went on. He moved out of the way, and the opening in the gate revealed the throng of people that had been behind him.

Guardians. Soldiers. Hundreds of them. They cheered loudly, raising swords and fists into the air.

"They're all ice Gifted," Aerune stated proudly. "We recruited as many as we could. These mongrels after our women will get nothing put pain."

"Recruited?" someone behind him bellowed. "We couldn't sign up fast enough!" A few people chuckled richly.

"A surprise indeed!" Atemu bellowed. "Every hand helps! Now let's not stand around like a bunch of ginny-wits, we've got work to do!"

And with that, they all walked inside the gates and began to work, and to plot, for the battle ahead.

_xxx_

Yuugi sat next to Atemu in the Hold Hall, holding his hand as they waited for the Head of Council to make her appearance. Aerune, Jono, and a few other Turehnemay officials had already taken their seat, and were lightly conversing with one another. The mood at this Hold was significantly lighter than the last one, even though a battle was on the horizon. Quickly, the doors burst open and a women came rushing in, hastily pulling on pale gold robes and a white sash.

"Well!" The woman declared, closing the door behind her and fixing her pale gold hair. "Fashionably late, I see. Forgive my tardiness, my Lords. I am Ariehnna, the Head of Council of Turehnemay Hold. On behalf of all of the people here, you are humbly welcomed. I hope the extra fighters we have will help in the fight to come."

Atemu nodded his reply as Ariehnna took her seat next to her husband. "We are glad to be here. How much information have you been given from messengers from Ice Ridge?"

"Only that some anonymous enemy has targeted the women of Northern Reach, and has been attacking Hold after Hold," Aerune stated. His wife nodded in concurrence. "How this was figured out, though we are unsure."

"I can fill you in on that," Yuugi stated. "When the map was displayed to us by the ice Guardians that came to us for help." At this, Jono removed the map from a pouch that he was carrying, and displayed it on the table for all to see. A few gasps went around the table, as the penciled outline of the partially finished symbol was still on the map. "On top of this information, the casualties are astronomical in women compared to men."

"Do we know who is behind this?" Ariehnna asked.

"No idea at all," Atemu conceded. "And the scouts haven't been able to find out who's giving who directions in the enemy lines. All that we do know is that they're on their way here, and will reach the Hold gates by morning."

The Head of Council shook her head. "Very well. We'll get our intelligence on it as soon as possible. Ice Guardians are harder to spot up here than anyone else, even when they're right next to you. We'll see what we can find out. The only thing I'm worried about is the battle leaking into the Hold walls itself. There are too many mothers and babies within our perimeters to allow that."

"Don't worry," Atemu said. "The battle will not, under any circumstances, be allowed in here. The gates are to be locked until a member of your own council, the one person you trust the most, gives the signal to open the gates after the battle is over. If, in the unlikely event that we should fail, and the enemy remains outside your walls, you are to contact the Divine City immediately, and the Magistrate will give the okay to send as many more soldiers and Guardians as you need."

The council all nodded their heads solemnly, understanding what to do in the event of disaster.

The Prince nodded, too. "It is settled, then. We will make strategies till sundown, then get some rest in preparation for morning. In the mean time, there is a lot of preparing to do. With your leave," he gestured, and Ariehnna and Aerune stood, bowed, and the rest of the council stood as well and went about their business.

By the time night fell, Yuugi's head hurt from thinking too much. They thought and created strategies and plotted and planned and did every little devious addition they could think of to their battle plan. By the time they were 'mostly' done, Yuugi felt that they had already fought and perhaps even lost the battle. He was grateful when he was finally allowed to let his head hit the pillow. He was even more grateful when Atemu's head hit the pillow next to his, and felt arms wrap warmly and lovingly around him.

Sadly, he knew his sleep wouldn't last too long.

And he was right, too. Just as it seemed that he could sleep forever in the sweet warmth, their door burst open with a burst, and a frantic voice called into the darkness of their room. "Sires! You must wake! The enemy is getting close!"

The Prince sat bolt upright in his bed. Yuugi followed nearly as fast, his breath startled out of him. Yuugi got a glimpse of Jono as he left from their doorway, off to get the lines ready.

They dressed in a blur, hardly having time to greet one another after their sleep. Clothed and still harnessing their sword holsters to their waists, they ran out into the hall and then out into the frigid winter air. Astarte and Senke barreled up to them, already saddled and harnessed themselves. _Goddess, these horses are smart._ Yuugi and Atemu mounted without even blinking, and headed to the gates.

"Jono!" Atemu yelled. "Where are the lines?"

"In formation!" the Captain's voice called back from up ahead. "We're just waiting for your call!"

"Good! Get in line yourself. You know what to do. Sweetheart-"

Yuugi stopped and looked at Atemu, who's eyes were now locked onto his.

"Be careful, love. You know the plan."

With a nod, they nudged their Sacreds gently in the sides, and ran out of the gates to opposite directions.

The land around Turehnemay was flat, unlike Ice Ridge. There were no hills for them to hide behind, but there was foliage, and plenty of dense brush to hide in. They would remain unseen until the enemy was right under their noses. Once again, though, they framed the area, so once they closed in on the enemy, they enemy would be pinned against the Hold walls.

Astarte bounded into the brush and trees, more high strung than before their arrival. Her eyes looked almost wild, and she had an even harder time standing still. "Astarte," Yuugi whispered above her ear. "You must be still, love. We can't give away our position. I know you sense something but...but we'll have to pull through no matter what."

She bobbed her head, and stilled a little, but her eyes betrayed her worried state.

Silence. The troops had filed in behind him minutes ago, and now not a peep could be hear, aside from the howl of the blowing wind. The snow was heavier today than it had been the day before. It was nearly white-out conditions. If the enemy wasn't frozen by now, they would be soon.

Again, it was nerve-wracking. Again, he felt like he would suffocate with the tension.

He saw them before he heard them. For all of their girth and they size, they were surprisingly silent. The big burly men that were all brown and black and dirty trudged up towards Turehnemay's walls, their eyes dead and their hands barring arms.

A white stallion stormed up to meet them, neighing loudly and rearing to full height. "Leave this place!" Atemu yelled. "And no harm shall befall you!"

They didn't seem to hear him. They kept walking, the weapons getting raised even higher. Yuugi watched as Atemu raised his hand, and shot a blast of black energy into the sky once again.

"Warriors! We fight!" He rode quickly, and heard the pounding of hooves behind him as he raced onto the battle field, his sword swinging. Blood began flying up all around him once again. The jar he felt was odd, but he hardly noticed it just the same, every time Astarte's hooves made contact with a body. The crunching of bones became background noises, right along with the screams.

Out of the corner of his eye, a streak of brown caught his vision, and right after a sharp pain he saw black, then new no more.

_xxx_

Atemu finally allowed himself to catch his breath, sheathing his sword and taking the reins with both hands. The battlefield was littered with bodies, and thankfully most of them were enemy bodies. Steam rose in abundance into the air, both from sweat and cooling bodies. Senke was covered in blood from head to hoof, but he surprisingly wasn't winded. "Well, another battle down, Yuugi." He turned for a response, not expecting to see no one behind him. "Yuugi?" His partner had met up with him the last time the battle was over. Where was he now? "Yuugi?" He asked a little louder. No one else left on the battlefield responded to him. "Yuugi!"

Panic started to rise in his throat. _No, oh Holy Goddess no. No, no, no! _"Yuugi? YUUGI!" Senke sensed his panic, and started to race around the field, looking for a body. "_Yuugi!" _

Jono looked up from recovering bodies, noticing the Prince racing around and calling for the Betrothed. _Oh, no..._

Atemu felt tears sting at his eyes. "Yuugi, answer me!"

Suddenly, a white horse sat up from laying down on the ground with a grunt. He recognized those aloof green eyes. _Astarte..._ He directed Senke in her direction, dismounting before his horse was even done running. He fell to the ground where the Sacred had just been resting on, finding Yuugi's body resting peacefully. Blood lightly stained his hood. Without even thinking, he ripped the hood off, seeing the blood oozed out of Yuugi's skull. He leaned over and listened for breath, a pulse, anything.

_Thump...thump...thump..._

"Thank Eternity," he choked out, holding the limp body close. Yuugi was alive. He looked up at those green eyes that were starring at him. _Smart girl. She played dead and laid down over his body, keeping him warm and protected from danger._

Jono bounded up on his Sacred. "Healers are on the way."

_xxx_

Yuugi blinked his eyes open slowly, his head feeling like it was swimming in a fish bowl. "Uuugh," he groaned, feeling drained.

"You're awake."

He blinked again, turning his head ever so slowly. "Atemu?" He asked groggily. He could just make out a smile.

"Yes, love. How are you feeling?"

"Dead."

"But you're not. That's the important thing."

"What happened?"

"You took a blow to the head from a club. It gave you a pretty bad concussion. The Healers said you'll be fine, though."

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days."

"Ugh, Good god. No wonder I'm tired. Who one?"

"We did. Twice."

Yuugi looked back up at those warm crimson eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We're at Hold Forescythe. There was a fight here last night. There is only one fight left, and that's Kyanah's Hold."

Yuugi attempted to sit up, but thought better of it, as the fish bowl his head was in started to swish and sway. "I slept through a whole battle?"

Atemu got up from his seat and sat next to Yuugi on his bed, putting his hands on Yuugi's shoulders. "It's all right, love. We were fine. The Guardians have all been worried about you, as have the soldiers. We're just glad you're okay."

Yuugi finally enjoyed the feeling of his eyes clearing a bit, and saw how Atemu looked at him differently. He looked...older. "You've changed," he said softly.

The Prince looked at him oddly. "What do you mean, Yuugi?"

"Your eyes look different. What happened?"

Atemu sighed. "Receptive, aren't you?" Yuugi was silent as he waited for the continuation. "I thought you had died at Turehnemay. My whole world started to crumble, Yuugi."

"And then you had to fight in a battle without me."

The Prince brushed a stray bang behind Yuugi's ear. "The Healer's don't want you to fight at Kyanah's. They say you could seriously injure yourself, even if you never take a hit."

"What if something happens to you?"

"We'll have to deal with things one crisis at a time." A weak smile. "Like assuring Astarte that you are indeed still alive. She's been hell for days now."


	18. Necromancy

Yuugi stepped lightly as he was led through the hallways of Hold Forescythe. There was an indoor pathway that led to the stables, and every stable in Northern Reach was indoors and heated. Atemu refused to let go of his arms, his hands soft and warm as they offered support. His head still felt like it was swimming, perhaps with a hammer plunging away inside of that fish bowl that held his brain. Oh, it hurt so much...

"Easy, love. We're almost there."

Two Healers were hovering closely by their side. As much as they disapproved of this venture, they also didn't want to put up with the complaints and injuries the stable hands were enduring at the hooves and teeth of Astarte.

Finally a door came to view at the end of the hallway, and one of the Healers rushed towards it and opened it, the smell of hay and grain beginning to flow their way.

There was a lot of noise inside. It sounded like a demon steed was busy attacking the very floor itself. The noise started pounding away at his already massive headache. "Astarte," Yuugi called. "Knock it off, you know Sacred stall doors are charmed to be unbreakable."

Immediately, the pounding stopped and a hearty neigh responded to him.

Atemu chuckled, standing closely behind him to make sure he didn't fall. He nodded to one of the Healer's and they walked over cautiously and opened up her stall door. The poor woman barely had time to get out of the way before the white horse flew out of the stall and ran up to Yuugi, stopping only inches before him and pushing her nose into his hair. Yuugi laughed, wrapping his arms around her silken muzzle. "I'm okay," he stated, rubbing his fingers through the top of her mane. "Stop being mean to all of the people here. They might be tempted to let you starve, you know."

She grunted at him, but otherwise was unaffected by his usual teasing.

He lifted her head up and looked into her olive green eyes, making sure that she understood him. "I'll be okay. Don't worry, but I need to go lay back down again. My head hurts like Hell, and my body needs more rest. I'll be back in to see you again, okay?"

She snorted and pawed at the ground, bobbing her head. A begrudging acceptance.

Yuugi sunk back into Atemu's strong arms, his energy drained. "I'm tired."

The Prince picked him up bridal fashion swiftly. "I think we're done here. Don't worry, love. We'll get you back to the bed." Yuugi ignored the Healers as they grumbled to themselves and admonished the Prince for insisting on bringing their patient out and causing him strain. Atemu's chest was warm, and his head was groggy. His fingers clung on to the Prince's shirt front, the lights seeming too bright to his now sensitive eyes. He didn't remember how long the trek was back to their room, but it came as quickly as he could have hoped, and in one smooth motion Atemu had placed him back in bed and pulled the covers back up over his body.

The two healers came up to him, bustling and clucking about his condition. They held their hands over his head and he felt a soft, warm glow seep into his skull. The relief was immediate, and he sighed with appreciation. "Give him another week," one of them said to the Prince. "He shouldn't walk for a couple more days, but no hard activity for a week, minimum, and only that time line so long as he continues to receive treatment."

"As long as you're sure," Atemu replied.

The two bowed, then left the room. Once the door was finally closed, the Prince sat down on the bed with Yuugi. His face was quiet, his eyes somehow less bright than they had been before. Yuugi mustered up the courage to say what was on his mind and his heart. "Your eyes look haunted."

Atemu frowned, picking up Yuugi's hand and holding it. "I'm sure they do."

"You look...older than before. It pains me to see you like this."

The Prince smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry, my love. I'm not sure what to do, though. This whole ordeal just...it doesn't seem right. It doesn't _feel_ right. I'm groping through darkness to find the answers. I have thousands of lives resting on my decisions. If I make the wrong choice, or if I didn't see something..."

Yuugi squeezed the hands holding his. "Everything will be okay. I know it will."

Atemu nodded. "Of course it will, but-"

"_No,_" Yuugi stressed, cutting him off. "I mean it. Everything will be okay. I can feel it here." At this, he put his hand over the Prince's chest were his heart was. "I know things are going to work out. _I_ have confidence in you. Even if, _if_, you do fail, I will be there with you, no matter what happens. Even if Sekesha fell to blood and tears, I will be beside you until the end."

Atemu sighed, bowing his head. "I hope you are right, Yuugi. I have had no Foresight about these battles, or who is behind them. I feel so uneasy about it, I just want to scream whenever I think about it. Who is attacking us?"

Yuugi sighed as well, thinking. "Whoever it is, they are a coward. They haven't shown up to any of the fights. And have you noticed about the enemy men? Their eyes look dead. I think they're... I don't know, dead or something."

"They are."

He didn't reply right away. The idea just didn't seem to sink in at first. "What?"

"They are dead. Our enemy is a Necromancer. A magi that can summon dead bodies and make them act like they're living. That's why they don't freeze to death up here, they're already frozen and dead."

"Sweet Jesus Christ."

The Prince ignored the strange profanity that Yuugi conjured up. He never really knew what half of them meant.

"That's just...sick."

"Not only that, but it's illegal within Sekesha's boundaries. Whoever it is attacking us is an outsider, for they couldn't have learned that magick here."

Yuugi shuddered. He tried to shove the terrible images from his mind for now. "Kiss me goodnight? I'm about to fall asleep."

Atemu smiled. "Always, Yuugi." He leaned forward, delicately brushing his lips against Yuugi's. No physical activity. "Sleep well, darling."

"I love you," Yuugi whispered back. "When are we leaving for Kyanah's?"

"In about twelve hours from now. We'll be rigging up a covered sled that Astarte will pull for you. You'll be able to lay down the whole time."

"No way points up here."

He shook his head. "There are from here to Kyanah's, but I have to stay with the troops, and wherever you go, by default, I go with you."

Yuugi nodded. He really wasn't thinking completely in his wearied state. "Love you..." And with that, he fell asleep.

Atemu brushed Yuugi's bangs back behind his ears. Deep down, he was glad that Yuugi wasn't fit to fight. It was one less thing he had to worry about. He didn't know if he could handle the panic of losing Yuugi again. It nearly broke him. "I love you too, _aybu._"

_xxx_

Kyanah's Hold was huge. He wasn't sure if his reckoning of space was up to par yet, but Yuugi was nearly positive that it was at least the size of the Eternal Palace. People were everywhere. There was so much noise, Yuugi was glad when the shuffle of moving him was over and he was back in a bed in a secluded room. He and the Prince were given a 'proper' room this time, complete with its own bathing chamber and breakfast nook. They'd been living without room service for nearly a week now. Not that Yuugi had really noticed. He was still unaccustomed to being waited on. At the moment, though, he didn't have any choice. The Healer's wouldn't hear otherwise.

Atemu was busy with the Head of Council and the other officials of the place. Yuugi wouldn't see him for hours. He had been told from some news source that the scouts stated the next batch of corpses would show up on their doorstep within a few hours. If they didn't find the source of these armies, they could end up battling for months on end, until every dead body in the earth was finally conjured up to fight. Even those that they had already lost. Ultimately, it was a path to self-destruction. The longer they fought, and the more men they lost, the longer they'd have to continue to fight until there were none of them left.

What were they going to do?

Yuugi drifted in and out of sleep for a few hours, relatively bored. He had nothing to do, and he certainly couldn't expect anyone to spare precious time before a battle to entertain him. So he was very surprised when a green-clad Healer knocked softly on his door before entering. Atemu had come and left earlier, kissing him softly before heading out to war. The Healer was a woman with powder pink hair and bright blue eyes. "Hi there," she smiled brightly. "I'm Karehlinda. I was told that you were probably a bit lonely in here."

Yuugi smiled back. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Yuugi."

"So I've heard. Congratulations on the Betrothal."

"Thank you."

Karehlinda sat down in a chair next to the bed and pulled out a deck of hand made cards. Yuugi had only seen Sekeshan cards briefly, knowing instead of numbers they had magickal symbols on them to represent different things. It was a game of strategy that people often played, pitting one particular spell against another. Simpler games were similar to 'Go Fish', where they attempted to make as many matches as possible. "Game of Sennah?" She asked, holding up the deck.

Yuugi shook his head, not feeling like thinking about anything. His head still didn't feel quite right. "No thanks." He noticed the snowflakes still on her shoulders. "What's going on outside?"

"The fight started, I believe, about a half an hour ago."

Yuugi realized before he could stop himself that he was scratching behind his ear. Damn that habbit! "No word so far, I take it."

"None."

Yuugi squeezed his hands together. Something was telling him that he needed to make it outside. "I hear there's an enclosed walkway with windows around the Hold, kind of like a catwalk. Can I see it?"

The Healer pursed her lips together, shuffling the cards. "I'm not sure what a catwalk is, but I know the walkway you're thinking of. I don't see the harm in showing you." Standing, she put the cards back in her pocket. She offered her hand for Yuugi to take, which he did end up needing a bit to get enough leverage to get out of bed. "A little bit of walking never killed anyone, unless they had heart problems, which you do not!" She smiled again. She was a kind person, but Yuugi had other things on his mind.

"Any sunshine yet?" He asked, making conversation.

"Never in the winter, I'm afraid."

"Hm, that's too bad." He pulled on some puts and put on a cloak, deeming himself dressed well enough for a short little jaunt around the Hold.

The hallways were empty, nary a person to see walk past them as they ascended some stairs to the elevated walkway. Only a couple of quiet children whispering to themselves passed by them, and other than that there was silence. "It's a beautiful place here," Yuugi commented, marveling at how the walls shimmered much like that of the palace.

"It's been my home for nearly a decade. I can't imagine myself anywhere else in the world."

"It reminds me a lot of the palace."

The Healer smiled widely. He knew a statement like that would be a huge compliment, even if it was mostly true. "We try our best. Look, the windows have started." She pointed to the ice covered windows, the panes thick and triple layered. They were most likely covered in magickal spells to protect them from the cold and wind. They wouldn't break for probably a hundred years or so.

Snow was falling outside. Again. It always snowed up here. Yuugi held his breath when the Hold walls came into view. He stopped for a moment, taking in the scene. The battle was huge, possibly three times larger than anything he'd ever been in. The white Guardians and soldiers below were like giant snowflakes zig-zagging across the battle field. Drab colored enemy lines were swarming them, overflowing...

No...

Yuugi couldn't tear his eyes away. It couldn't be.

"Sire, perhaps we should move on. There's no real reason to watch this."

He ignored her. His mind was still numb with what he was watching. Yuugi's heart felt like it had stopped beating for a moment, then rushed to pound so hard he could feel it in his ears. He couldn't speak, or breathe anything but shallow breaths, and he felt numb.

They were losing. More corpses seemed to simply stand up after getting killed again, and he knew that he even saw dead Guardians start to fight their once comrades. No, it wasn't them anymore. They were now just bodies attacking. The soul was gone.

It couldn't be. They were being suffocated out there!

His eye was drawn to the center of the battle field, the gleam of a blood-soaked sword swinging into the air to hack at another corpse. _Atemu..._ Yuugi's eye shot to the front of the fight, where a lone figure sat astride a still mount, a sick energy radiating off of him. _The Necromancer._ He came. And there was no way anyone could reach him in time to kill him before every body on the field was under his control. _We'll all die here. _

"Sire," Karehlinda pressed. "Please, we need to press on."

"I have to get out there."

"I'm afraid that's quite impossible. There's no way to open the Hold gates, and you're not allowed out there because of your concussion. Really, the idea is just prepos"-

"I have to get out there!" Yuugi said again. He could feel panic begin to grip his chest. "I have to! You can't keep me _in here! We'll all **die!**_**" **Karehlinda backed up bewildered when Yuugi's eyes began to glow a vibrant silver-white. His hair danced in waves of energy as he called upon his gifts out of sheer instinct. His feet left contact with the floor.

She couldn't believe her own eyes when glorious, magnificent wings sprouted from his back, his cloak flung off without a thought. His light Gift shattered the walkway around him, opening up clear sky for him to fly. She cried out, falling backwards from the overwhelming power that pushed her away as Yuugi took flight. "By the Goddesses," she breathed, watching him depart to the fight below.

_xxx_

He had this fight down. Whittle down their numbers, boost their confidence, then crush them. The plan to attack Northern Reach, what a stroke of genius! After obtaining all of the Holds, he'd have an indomitable fortress the Prince could never hope to breach.

Ah, the Prince! The fool _actually_ showed up too! Betrothed hand in hand, practically begging to be usurped from their rule! Ah, so young. It was by a stroke of luck the current ruler was indeed so young, untrained in the art of war.

Oh well. It didn't matter now, anyway.

It was difficult to make out at first, the white on white in the sky slowly heading his way. He in fact dismissed the object at first, thinking it perhaps a dragon that was about to get shot down.

But the object continued to grow in size. And he suddenly realized those wings didn't belong to a dragon. They had feathers.

Energies stronger than he'd ever felt washed up in waves against his magickal shields and crushed them, like a horse stepping on an ant. **_"Monster,"_** the thing above him hissed. It couldn't be... Were the rumors true? **_"I'll skin you alive before I hang you up by your intestines." _** The vengeful. The feared. The wicked.

The beautiful.

Shadows and light intermingled, so sultry it could cause even the coldest of bodies to blaze with want. "**_Die." _**

It was. The only one left living. He'd have never stood a chance, fighting something like that. Something that only survived in fantasy novels and children's nighttime stories.

It was an Assai.

_xxx_


	19. Ashes of the Savior

_Yuugi...Yuugi...wake up, Yuugi..._

_...Yu..._

_...Answer me, Yuugi...please...alive...ple..._

_Please..._

_...please be alive...an...me...please answer me Yuugi! _

The difficulty in making his mind conscious again was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing, or why, or where he even was. More than that...what was he? A thing? A being? Something was trying to communicate with him. He was mostly sure of this.

His mind suddenly became aware of his appendages. He had eyelids. He should be able to see. What was happening around him?

_Yuugi, answer me! Yuugi... Yuugi... _"Answer me!"

His eyes flew open and he sucked in a deep, sharp breath. His breaths were jagged and forced, his limbs feeling strange...cold...they felt like lead. Wet ruby eyes were looking down at him, the face contorted in pain and fear.

"Yuugi, thank goddess. Yuugi..."

He tried to turn his head and make eye contact, but from the thought to the muscles something went wrong, and nothing happened.

"Yuugi, speak to me. Tell me something. Are you all right?"

That voice was so sad. It made him want to weep.

His voice. Answer. That's what he needed to do. "Ah...a...ack-ugh!" He gasped and started to choke, coughing on his own air somehow. His chest shook with the violent cough. The one holding him held him closer. He knew this person from somewhere. From how long ago...? Those bright, beautifully endless scarlet eyes. "A...te..mu?"

"Yuugi, are you all right? How do you feel?"

There were people around him. He couldn't make out their faces very well. His vision couldn't focus on too many things at a time. "Wha...what happened?"

Atemu buried his hand in Yuugi's hair, looking down at him in sorrowful...disbelief? He looked somewhere behind Yuugi's head. "You don't remember?"

He didn't answer. It hurt so very much to speak, a hundred pounds of weight feeling like it was pushing down on his chest.

"The Necromancer, Yuugi. You destroyed him."

"I...killed..him?"

"No, you destroyed him. There's nothing left." Atemu lifted him up further and, cradling his head, turned it enough so he could see the area behind him. Red and black scorched the once white earth, a pile of bones and ash resting in the center.

His mind didn't register any of it. "I hurt," he wheezed.

"Yes, I'm sure you do."

The Prince stood, keeping Yuugi in his arms. His body was completely limp, seemingly devoid of any life. "Ca...can't...move..."

"Don't worry love...everything..." The world started to fade away. _Everything will be all right..._

_All right..._

_xxx_

The first thing he noticed when he awoke next was a bright white light shining in his face. He took in cleansing breaths, moving his head from side to side. At least his muscles were working again. He noticed there were a few people in the room, none of them he recognized. Healers? "Uugh..." he groaned. Good god, he felt like crap.

"He's waking..."

"Someone get the Prince."

"Will he be all right?"

"Who should talk to him?"

The Healers were all talking at once. There was a whole heard of them in his room. Five...six...no, ten. Ten of them were in there. Why all the fuss? "What's going on?" He asked. "Why are there so many people in here?" No one answered him right away. They all seemed to give him way glances, keeping a very cautious distance. His eyes looked around wildly, a feeling of hurt and worry forming in his chest. Why did they look afraid of him? "What's wrong?"

The door burst open and Atemu rushed in, pushing past the non-responsive Healers and landing at Yuugi's bedside, holding his hand. His eyes were tired and bloodshot, his cheeks stained with a little red.

"Atemu, have you been crying?"

The Prince ran his hands all over Yuugi's face, leaving no area untouched. "How do you feel, Yuugi? Does anything hurt?"

"Never mind that! What's going on? Why are there so many people in here? What happened? Why have you been crying?"

Atemu shook his head, unable to make eye contact for the first time. "Everybody out."

"Sire," a bolder Healers said, "really, that's probably not a good idea. We-"

"Everybody out!" He shouted, his voice beginning to crack.

Without further comment, all ten Healers shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind them with a soft click.

"Atemu, answer me," Yuugi pleaded. His muscles felt like jello, but he really didn't care. He needed answers.

Those wet crimson eyes looked at him, a sadness deeper than he'd ever seen resting in their depths. "You really don't remember?"

"_Remember what?_" Yuugi stressed.

"The Necromancer, Yuugi. You destroyed him. There's nothing but a pile of ash and bone shards left."

He was silent for a moment, digesting this information. "Why don't I remember this?"

"Because you experienced what we call a 'Berserker Rage.' Legendary fighters usually experienced these. It's a state where you acquire impossibly powerful strength, ravaging your enemy, and have no memory of it afterwards." Atemu continued to run his thumbs over Yuugi's hand like it was a worry stone.

"But I've never done that before. I don't understand..."

"No, you don't have it by nature. It was sparked by need and pure instinct. You saved everybody."

Yuugi shook his head. "But why is everyone afraid of me? Why have you been crying? Why did my body just...give out?"

The Prince sighed, his shoulders sagging more than ever. "The power that was required to destroy the Necromancer was...extraordinary. Not only did you destroy him and all of his shields and powers in less than a heartbeat, but you _also_ destroyed part of the skyway that you were in. That skyway was charmed to be unbreakable and impenetrable. Even if the stone wore away, you would have been left standing on the shields, and not even feel a temperature difference. Yuugi, not even _I_ could have destroyed it that quickly."

Yuugi shook his head, still confused. "And...the fear?"

"The people are afraid of what you can do. If you become angry at them, they fear you could do something terrible. They don't understand. They are in awe of you, for you are something they'd only dreamed ever existed, and now you have given them solid proof of what you're capable of."

Yuugi looked at his bedside, his stomach dropping to his knees. "My wings..." They were out, and very visible.

"Everyone saw them."

Suddenly, his little bubble of security in this world started to crumble. People were afraid of him. He didn't want them to run away in fear. "What about your crying?"

"I realized that I'm going to lose you."

"No!" Yuugi cried, squeezing the hand holding his. "You won't! I'm not going anywhere. I love you!"

The Prince gave a bitter laugh. "No, not now. But soon. There is something called The Book of Prophecies. So far, every one in the book has come to pass. The next one talks about the last of a race becoming apart of Sekesha's royal house. It will become Her greatest treasure and asset, and with its own life will save us all." He bowed his head, his shoulders shaking. "You've proven you are an Assai, no matter where you came from. Only the Assai had powers such as yours, even with so little training. They were the only rivals in power with the Royalties. And what's more--Assai always have two Gifts, and usually those that are in direct conflict with one another."

"My Gifts. Shadows and Light."

"Yes."

He pondered this for a moment. "No wonder everyone's terrified of me. I'm a myth brought to life before their very eyes."

"That's also how the Assai died out. People fear what they don't understand, and they both feared and were in awe of the Assai. Imagine, a race of people that were so powerful, a child just introduced to their powers could conquer the greatest sorcerer or mage that ever lived. They, and you included, existed on a slightly different plane than common folk. Just like unicorns can seemingly vanish into another plane and appear at the opposite end of a forest, so too do you exist in that manner, and are more apt to heal and recover than others. There are divine energies pulsing through you, and that makes others jealous."

Yugi looked up at the Prince, curious. "But what about you? You've got wings, doesn't the same apply to you?"

Atemu gave him a weak smile. "I'm not an Assai, Yuugi. I exist on this plane alone. I have one Gift. I may have divine blood from the Moon Goddess Herself, but I'm still mortal. Sacrifices offer great power, Yuugi. If I offered my life for something, a lot would happen, but only on this plane. If you offered your life for something, you could destroy a god."

Yuugi's mind went momentarily numb. "I...no. I don't want this. It's not fair." His spirits crumbled even more. "I never asked for this. Life isn't fair."

"It rarely is."

"What about my body? Why couldn't I move? What's wrong with my muscles?"

Atemu sighed once again. "Your body was not accustomed to the energies that you used. You basically fried all of your nerves, and your energy was spent. All of those Healers have been working on giving you energy for a few days now. If you over exert yourself right now, you could relapse, and ruin all of the progress that's been made so far."

"Hm." He yawned, his ever present exhaustion becoming more prevalent.

"Get some sleep, love. This time, you really need it."

_xxx_

Atemu sighed hard, holding his head in his hands. He was sitting in the hallway outside of Yuugi's room. He was still having a hard time looking upon the prone sleeping form, even though he'd had a chance to talk to him. Besides, he reasoned with himself that he'd let Yuugi get some sleep.

Boots thumping against the floor echoed down the hall, growing louder as it drew closer. Atemu didn't look up as another body joined him on the bench, dropping down without reservation. "How is he?"

The Prince didn't move to take notice of his Cavalry Captain. "Sleeping. The Healers say he'll be okay."

"We found this."

Something jingled in front of his face. He lifted his head, looking at the pendant that Jono was dangling before him.

"It was in the pile of ashes that was left of the Necromancer."

He grabbed the jewelry, looking at it closely. "Brass. Poorly crafted. The inscriptions are written in _Wrarrl_, the native language of Questchal." He turned the pendant over, looking at the back. There were more inscriptions. "The man's name was 'Eunelock Locklhier.'" He sighed. "Our old enemy is active again."

Jono nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Atemu dropped his hand down, feeling more tired than he could ever remember.

"You should get some sleep, Sire. You look half dead."

"I've tried. I can't get to sleep. Every time I turn over, he's not there. When I do get to sleep, I have nightmares."

Jono shook his head. "We grew up together. As a friend, I wish I could give you some advice, but truth-be-told, I don't have the faintest idea what you're going through. Pray to your ancestors. Maybe they can help."

He took a cleansing breath, but it did little to ease the pain in his heart. "It looks like that's my only option left. I don't want to lose him but...I appear to have no choice."

"You mean the prophecy?"

The Prince nodded. "Yes. If Queschtal is striking war, it means their god is angry again. The Goddesses have been meaning to eradicate his existence for a few millennia. It appears they have found the vehicle to carry out their will." Atemu handed the pedant back to Jono, who pocketed it again.

"He'll save us all," the Captain observed.

"I know."

_xxx_


	20. Sacred Sun

Yuugi yawned widely, sucking in fresh air before allowing his eyes to open. He was extremely unhappy to see he was still in the same room, the boring white walls starring sterilely back at him. He wanted to go home.

He went to roll over, only to find his wings still inhibiting his movement. Damned, stupid things. He concentrated on hiding them in the _in-between_ dimension, wanting them gone and hiding away again. A minute ticked by. Two. Three...

It wasn't working. Yuugi huffed in frustration, feeling that his energy was still far too drained to do anything. It was kind of like trying to turn on a lamp, and the electricity that powered it up simply wasn't there. _Damn it._ Sighing, he settled for just turning his head to the side, a little surprised to see Atemu's head and arms resting on the edge of the bed, fast asleep. _By goddess...he looks dead. I've never seen gray areas under his eyes before._ He didn't have the heart to wake him, even though his mind was abuzz with a thousand questions. _Poor thing._ He knew that if it wasn't for him, they'd all be dead, but he also knew that it was him that was causing all of the stress on the Prince. He probably shouldn't, but he felt guilty just the same.

Atemu's eyes fluttered, and even though Yuugi didn't make a sound the Prince started to wake. He shoved a hand through his hair and tugged at the ebony black tresses, attempting to bring some stimulation to his brain. His eyes flickered open, groggy and clouded.

"Morning, love."

Atemu blinked at him stupidly, obviously trying to get his mind to focus. "It's not morning. It's evening."

"You look like you've had a rough few days."

He yawned, sitting up only part way. "More like a few weeks. This nightmare feels like it's gone on forever."

"I'm sorry."

Atemu shook his head, silently refuting the comment. "No, don't be. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

He sighed. "I know. I still can't help but feel bad."

The Prince rested his elbows on the bed, rubbing his eyes to clean the sleep from his lashes.

"Tell me about the prophecy."

The Prince's frame seemed to deflate. "I knew you'd ask me sooner than later."

Yuugi didn't respond. He waited for an answer.

He closed his eyes, gather his wits together. _"The last of its kind, back home after a tortured past, it will join the ranks of Divine Royalty, and restore a daughter to Sekesha's Hands. It will become the Throne's most precious treasure, and its greatest asset. The Wretched One's time will end in fast, the Goddess's Favored, the long awaited savior at last."_ Here, he paused and allowed the words to sink in. "It fits. You are the last of your kind. You came from a tortured background. You are our greatest asset. And, most importantly, you have the ability to destroy a god, and save Sekesha from her longest, oldest evil."

Yuugi thought the words through again. "What about the daughter part? What does that mean?"

Atemu picked up Yuugi's hand again and started to rub it, much like it was a worry stone, the same way he had before. "In Sekesha, it is always the first born daughter that inherits. It is always the wife of the household that has final say. Women are inherently stronger than men in magick. And in the palace, it is always the first born daughter that inherits the throne. If there is a son born before the daughter, he is still second in line to the female. The Queen always has and always will outrank the King. However, the royal family hasn't had a daughter born in nearly a hundred years. Every Queen has married into the family."

"What about your aunt?"

At this, he gave a rueful smile. " Lilian is much older than my father would have been. She was, coincidently, born out of, as you have so called it, 'wedlock.' She was not eligible for the Throne. It was secretly offered to her after my father died and I was still young, but she refused, saying it wasn't meant for her."

Yuugi fiddled with his blanket. "I'm confused. This time line. How is this time line supposed to work? A child? The death of a god? How long is it going to take for all of this to get fulfilled? And we have to live with this over our heads? And just who _is_ this god? And Sekesha's greatest evil?"

"The country of Questchal. Their god is named Enochnral, and he is evil. He teaches cruelty against women and servants. He praises greed and deception, and he has encouraged that wretched country to destroy us since the dawn of time."

He paused a moment. "What happened to your parents, Atemu?"

"My mother died in child birth," he began. "It would have been nearly unheard of had she been royal, but she wasn't. Royal women, I believe, have never died in child birth. My father, on the other hand, was murdered when I was eight."

Yuugi's eyes grew wide with shock. "The King was murdered? By who? Did you ever catch the killer?"

Atemu shook his head. "We don't know who killed him. I found him in front of the stables next to the palace on a chilly autumn morning, the only evidence left by the murderer little red-ish gold feathers strewn about his body."

"His wings had been ripped off," Yuugi observed. "Just like my parents."

The Prince frowned hard. "No, they hadn't been ripped. They'd been sawed off; the signs of the struggle were everywhere."

Yuugi shuddered, his mind thinking of the pain the man had gone through. "He was alive when they were removed. Dear goddesses above, that's torture."

"I vowed to find the one that killed him and gain vengeance, but I don't even know where to start looking."

Yuugi began mentally stacking up memories that seemed to go together, when before there had been nothing linking them. "You know," he spoke, "with what happened to Lilian's daughter, and my parents, and your father...is it just me, or am I seeing a trend here?"

Atemu looked him in the eyes, clearly sifting through the past events he remembered as well. "All right, so we have a killer, or possibly killers, that can rend Royalty and Assai harmless, at which point they will then remove the wings, and vanish without a trace. The question is..."

"What do they want with the wings?"

"That is the all important question. We figure that out, and we can figure out where to start looking." He sighed hard, dropping his head and rubbing his eyes again. He just looked so drained. He looked back up again, starring blankly at the wall.

Yuugi looked deeper into Atemu's eyes, the red-ish scarlet orbs moist with tears. "That's not the only reason you're upset. You've been crying all night, love. Tell me why."

He wiped at his eyes, quickly attempting to brush away the evidence.

"Atemu..."

The Prince shook his head no.

"Sweetheart... tell me. Don't keep secrets from me."

A pause. "Senke's going to die," he whispered.

It didn't register at first. "What!"

"Senke's going to die," he said a little louder, his face contorted with the attempted control to hold off the tears. "He was injured in the last battle. A slice into his belly, his hind quarters injured, a leg broken. The Healers have done everything that they can, but...they don't think he's going to make it through the night."

"Oh, sweet Goddess no." He was filled with shock. It couldn't be. That would be like him losing Astarte. His chest tightened with pain and empathy for Atemu, a strong will to help rising within him. "Atemu, take me to see him."

The Prince looked at him confused. "What? No, the Healers said you shouldn't move for a fortnight, at least. You could seriously injure yourself."

"_Please, _Atemu, take me to see him." He sat up and looked into his eyes. "Bring me there."

As always, his resolve faded. He could never deny a request from him. Saddened at the thought of injuring him even more, he lowered his head in resignation, but nodded, and stood. He picked Yuugi up with ease, heading off to bring him to the stables.

Yuugi was surprised that there was no one in the hallways. The place seemed extremely still.

The stable was quiet, no horses making a sound in their stalls. The only noise was that of labored breathing coming from the far corner, behind the door with the royal seal hastily affixed to it. Atemu opened up the door with magick. Yuugi was surprised as what he saw. "Astarte!" The white mare was laying down next to Senke, her muzzle resting gently against his neck to comfort him. She looked up at their entry, a soft whiney her greeting to them as Atemu set Yuugi down next to his dying Sacred, the poor thing laying pathetically on the floor.

Yuugi starred horror struck at the sight before him. Senke was in terrible shape. His legs were torn nearly to pieces. His under belly was stained with dark red, his wounds appearing to have not been able to heal all of the way. There was still blood oozing out of odd areas. "Senke, you poor thing. You've been like this for days?" The Healers couldn't fix him? Why? Was the damage too much and just beyond their repair?

Yuugi realized he must be bleeding internally. Senke was in a lot of pain at the moment. "Don't worry, Senke," he cooed, "we'll fix you up. You're going to be all right." Without his conscious realization of it, his mind began to think about the process of weaving. The strings had to be intertwined in such a delicate manner, and could accomplish all sorts of things.

The Prince watched, spell bound, as Yuugi's fingers began to dance over one of Senke's hind legs that was seriously injured. Strings of Light were emanating from his finger tips, weaving around the wound and Healing it, pulling the flesh back into place, and actually _replacing_ what was missing. He himself was no idiot, and he could see and feel the energies around him. Thus, he was able to realize that Yuugi was actually _feeding_ off of the energy it required to Heal Senke. Yuugi himself was in a trance, practically humming to himself as he worked, the look on his face one of relaxation, as if this were his favorite hobby.

He moved on to the stomach.

The Light energies that had just been placed on the legs faded to the shiny black of the stallion's coat. The Sacred sighed in bliss, hay flying up around his nostrils. _My heavens...he's actually gaining strength from Healing another. He doesn't even realize that it is the complete opposite for Healers. Healing is a Gift, and they have to use their own energy in order to Heal. Yuugi...he's gaining energy off of the positive life force that his **own**__ministrations are creating!_

If he hadn't been it before, now Yuugi truly had become Sekesha's greatest asset. A Healer that never tired. If one could imagine...

He hadn't even noticed, in his daze, that there were other around him now, watching just as transfixed and confused.

Yuugi dropped his hands, his work done. His trance was broken, and he was finally able to look up at the wide eyes gazing at him. He suddenly looked lost to Atemu, those endless purple eyes looking hurt and betrayed up at those that had once protected him, now nearly afraid of him in their disbelief. "Atemu? Did I do something wrong?"

Senke stood up with a gleeful snort and a neigh, pushing his muzzle into Yuugi's hair.

"No, love. Just performed another miracle, that's all."

He rubbed behind the stallion's ears. "I don't understand. I just Healed him is all."

"_Just_ Healed him?" One of the Healer's choked, disbelief written all over her thin face. "Senke was wounded with a magickal blade! We couldn't Heal him because of the poison it passed on to his flesh! You...you've broken every rule of Healing we've ever been taught!"

Yuugi's wings closed tighter, attempting to hide himself from view. Wonderful. Another reason to be feared and revered. _I just want to go home. I swear, I'll never come out of the safe quarter of the palace again._

Atemu intervened, walking in and picking Yuugi back up. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I think."

"Good. We're going home in the morning."

_xxx_

Yuugi fought for balance. He would sway every now and again, but Astarte, in all of her regal smoothness, always seemed to swerve enough to make sure his body balanced again, even if he was sure he had no control anyway. He felt well enough to sit up right, and he certainly didn't feel like laying down in a sleigh for his arrival back to the Divine City.

The palace had never looked so beautiful, nor so inviting. He absolutely couldn't wait to get back inside and sink into the soft mattress and covers of his and Atemu's bed. Warm, glorious rays of sunshine spilled over the pristine silver and blue marble of the palace walls, the many towers and balconies and windows weighed down with glittering snow and whistling white birds.

Lilian had created a portal for the entire army to ride back through. Everyone was behind them, the pomp and circumstance music of victory echoing through the air.

Astarte and Senke walked proudly up the palace steps, slow and regal. The Sacred stallion had never looked better, his demeanor so much brighter now that his natural color had been restored to his coat. "Welcome home," he whispered to Astarte. She tossed her pretty little head, her silver-white mane throwing flakes of snow around her.

Finally, they reached the platform, the Grand Entrance doors opened wide and inviting them in.

Lilian and Isis were standing and waiting for them, ready to decorate them for their victory and return home.

Atemu pulled Senke to a stop, turning him abruptly around. Yuugi vaguely noticed that he was giving a congratulatory speech to the troops behind them, bidding them all to go home and celebrate. _Oh, the stories that are going to come out of this little fiasco..._ He didn't really pay attention to what was said. He just wanted to get inside and _sleep._

Cheering, clapping, crying, it all melded together. A pretty woman smiled, the faint, invisible shimmer of her hidden wings noticed only by his eyes. A great big hug, and his love carrying him off to their room. _Sweet, soft bed! I come!_

_xxx_

The early touches of Spring had just started to grace Sekesha's capital. The snow had melted, leaving mud and rain in its wake. Yuugi had never felt better in his entire life. His energy was double of what it had been before. His lessons were increasing in intensity, and every now and again he would get the upper hand with his teachers. As it turned out, Ayana was not surprised at his Healing capabilities. There were a few select Gifted born among the Elves that held such powers. Although Ayana herself could do no such thing, she at least knew the concept behind it, and could coach him as he honed in on his skills. Soon, he'd start joint training, and use his Shadow Gift side by side with his Light Gift.

Yuugi was currently eating his lunch, indulging in a burp that tasted suspiciously like the fruit dragon's blood. He must have eaten more than he thought he had last night...

The door to the lounge he was in opened, a very wet Atemu coming in. The Prince shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair, water spraying everywhere.

Yuugi laughed. "You appear to be a little wet."

"Oh, yes, only a little."

"You're late for lunch. Where have you been?"

Atemu stripped himself of his sopping wet cloak, dropping it on a velvet couch without notice. "Outside, partly. Did you know it's raining?"

"Still? I'd have never guessed..."

The Prince chuckled. "Ha, ha, funny. Anyway, I hope you're done."

"Just about, yes. Why?" He dropped his fork in curiosity.

Those ruby eyes were gleaming, he noticed. "Come, I want to show you something. The time had finally come once again."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow in question, but did not comment on his curiosity. He simply got up, ready to follow. "Show me the way."

The Prince grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room. "Where are we going?" Yuugi asked.

"You'll see."

Down the hall they traveled, past the Throne room, past the conference lounge, past the court halls, past the kitchens, past the main entrance and right up to a side entry. This door was mainly used by stable hands, coming back and forth with supplies for the horses.

Thank goodness there was an underground passageway, so they needn't go outside.

"Will you tell me now?"

"Nope."

Yuugi grunted, but otherwise didn't protest. A door cam into view. Finally, they climbed the seemingly endless stairs, and emerged into the hay covered stables.

"What's going on out here?" Yuugi asked.

"No, not here. We're still moving on." Atemu led him to another door.

"Oh. Okay." Oh, great. It was the entrance doors. Which meant that they _were_ going outside. "I have to get _wet_," he whined.

Atemu gave him a cheeky grin. "Why? Are you going to melt?"

He snorted. "Well, no..."

"Good! Let's go." He opened the doors, the rain pummeling through and blasting them.

"Oh, lovely..." Whatever it was that was making the Prince so happy, it was apparently worth getting wet. _This better be good..._.

Across the palace grounds they ran, coming to another building. Yuugi noted that it was at least three stories tall, but there were no windows to hint at multiple levels. Why have ceilings so high?

They both pulled the doors opened quickly and ran in, shutting the doors quickly behind them. Yuugi huffed with the cold and the wet, glaring at the Prince. "This better be good," he warned.

Still that silly grin. "You'll see."

"Ah, Sire! You're back!"

Yuugi looked at the one to have spoken. "Jono!" he exclaimed. "What is this place? Atemu won't tell me anything!"

The Captain laughed. "Hatching season is a special treat. I don't blame him."

Yuugi was suddenly confused. "Hatching season?" Atemu's hands on his back urgently guided him down the hall and into a rather large, plain room, the floor covered with sand and straw. There was a lump in the middle of the room, and young boy kneeling vigilantly over it, his face feverish. "What the..." he whispered to himself.

"There!" the young man exclaimed, a strand of his dark blue hair falling over his face. "It moved again! Did you see?"

"Okay, Allehn," Jono spoke. "You can take the straw off the top. It doesn't need the heat anymore."

Eager hands brushed again at the mound of straw in the center of the room, revealing a blue egg speckled with gold.

_Dragons..._ It was dragon hatching season. No wonder everyone was excited. Yuugi wasn't sure how the choosing worked for dragon Guardians, as the Guardian had to be with the dragon at hatching. The horses chose after birth. The dragons did not.

_Scraaatch! Ssssshick shick shick! _Scratching noises echoed in the empty room.

Yuugi wrinkled his nose. There was a strange odor in the air...Meat. Bloody, raw meat. There was a barrel of it just out of reach of the young man named Allehn. _Baby dragons are ravenous beasts.__Crack!_

The egg trembled and wobbled, a flake from the top moving ever so softly. Allehn carefully pulled it off, helping to chip away at the sides as the dragonet inside kept scratching away at the shell.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the eggs exploded in half, and a panting, sopping wet dragon of midnight blue lay on the groung. It was only the size of a small dog. It made a chirping noise, attempting to lift its too large head off the ground.

Atemu pulled Yuugi back. "We're done here," he whispered in his ear. "Now's the time for the two of them to bond."

Yuugi, Jono, and Atemu convened outside in the hall. "I'm glad to see everything is going well," Atemu stated. "How many newborns this year, Jono?"

"About three hundred in the Divine City. Reports from El-Ekehrah are high this year, about six hundred. Everywhere else is right normal numbers. A hundred for larger cities, ten to fifty for smaller villages."

"El-Ekehrah?" Yuugi asked. "I haven't heard of that place yet."

"Our desert region capital," Atemu stated. "Traders come in from the ocean, and everything comes in to that city. It's quite prosperous." He turned back to Jono. "Good, the numbers are fine. You're keeping everything nicely on track. Any unmatched eggs this year?"

"No sir. Not with the normal eggs, at least..."

Atemu narrowed his eyes. "Jono..." he pressed. "What do you mean, _normal_ eggs?"

The Captain scratched behind his head nervously. "Well, you see, one of the scouts in El-Ekehrah thought it best to have it shipped up here. Somehow, it made it safely. Um..."

Yuugi could see Atemu was getting annoyed. "Well?"

"We've got a sun dragon, my Lord."

There was an eerie silence. Yuugi was not sure what a sun dragon was, but apparently it was quite important. "_You've got a sun dragon and you didn't tell me?"_

Jono put his hands up in defense. "It just came in today! I didn't know until now! Honestly!"

The Prince crossed his arms. "You were hoping to keep it for yourself, weren't you?"

That tanned face paled just a little. Jono gave a goofy grin, and Yuugi was strongly reminded of Jou. "Really, I'd never hide it from you."

Atemu snorted. "You couldn't for long. You know how _large_ those dragons get. Huge! Half the size of the palace, maybe!"

"Oh, I don't know if they get _that _big, Sire..."

The Prince snarled.

"Uh..." those blue eyes shifted around nervously. "Why don't I take you to see the egg?"

"Yes, that would be nice. Why don't you?"

Yuugi looked up at Atemu as they started walking again. "What's a sun dragon?" he asked.

"Sacred to the Sun Goddess," Atemu stated. "They're huge dragons that are nearly invincible. Any war lord would give his left nut to have one, and any woman who cared would give up her gender to own one."

"They sound really popular."

"Popular and rare. I thought they went extinct."

Yuugi 'ah'-ed, realizing why Atemu was so annoyed at not being told right away.

Jono turned a corner, bringing into view another large, sparse room with sand and straw on the floor. The mound in the middle was three times the size of the one they'd seen earlier. Gold seemed to shimmer under the dull yellow of the straw.

"Sweet Ealian," Atemu breathed. "How did they get it here?"

Jono shrugged. "Way points, I assume. Though how they carried it there is beyond me. Hehkatet already had it in the room by the time I arrived."

"Well, I'll be damned."

Everyone stood stock still when a few strands of straw fell off the egg. It moved.

"Uh oh," Jono said. "It's hatching..."

Atemu paled. "We need _someone _to bond with it. It'll go wild otherwise, and then we're _all_ doomed!"

_Scrrtchchchch..._ It wobbled again, this time more forcefully.

Yuugi ran forward, eager to see what it would look like. Just as he made it to the side of the egg, it burst in two, hatching much more quickly than the other one had. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the dazzling gold creature sprawl out on the sand, its little muscles quivering with overuse. It chirped, ocean blue eyes speckled with red looking up imploringly at Yuugi. It squeaked again. "He's hungry," Yuugi observed. "We need to get food for it!"

The dragonet shakily stood, toddling its way over and dropping its head in Yuugi's lap. "_Yeeaach!" _His heart melted.

"Yuugi!" Atemu bellowed. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

He looked up at the Prince, feeling sheepish, but not sure why he should. "Um...no?" He stood, walking up to the Prince. "Should I?"

Atemu smacked his face. "You've just bonded to the dragonet, Yuugi. It thinks you are its protector."

"Uh..."

"_Chyeeeap!" _Yuugi looked back, seeing the little gold dragon baby crawling his way. "_Grrrllyeeeap!" _

"Oh." He kneeled, collecting the dragon in his arms. It was the size of a medium dog, and quite heavy. "Now what?"

"Yuugi, there's a reason Guardians don't have both a horse _and_ a dragon. Dragons are full time jobs. You won't have much time for anything else. How do you expect to be able to keep-?"

Yuugi stood with the dragon in his arms, pouting in Atemu's direction.

The Prince's eye twitched once...twice... then his shoulders drooped. "Ack! I give up!"

Yuugi smiled. "Yeah! I get to keep it!"

The dragonet chirped.

"It's male," Jono observed. "He's got the horns just beginning to sprout from the top of his head. You might as well name him now."

Yuugi thought for a moment, thinking of the perfect name. "Helios," he spoke at last. "After the sun god of the Greeks."

Blank looks at the mention of 'Greeks.' Oh well, he liked the name, and that was all that mattered.

"Uh, Atemu,"

"Yes, love?"

"Where's he going to sleep?"


	21. Fate Beckons

**Dripping Wings**

_Giant mahogany doors burst open with a bang so loud, the sound of an explosion echoed down the endless hallway. Atemu stormed past the marble columns and darkened passageways few new existed. Adrenaline hummed through his blood stream. Red clouded his vision. All he felt like doing was destroying something large, expensive, and irreplaceable. He needed to vent his anger, and more than anything, he needed answers. _

_He needed answers now. _

"_Tranquility!" His voice boomed. "Tranquility! Eternity! Divinity! Show yourselves to me! Face me!" He pounded down the hall, his hands balled into fists. Every muscle felt like it would snap with tension if he didn't hit something, or scream his anger towards the heavens and demand Those above that they appease him. "Cowards!" He kept screaming. "Look at me and tell me what you've done! Why have you set this upon the Throne! Why! Reveal your faces to me!" _

"_**Your descendent defiles our names, sister. Shall you allow it?" **_

_Atemu whipped around, hearing a voice that was all too familiar. A face started to come into view, perfect in its smoothness, hair like clouds billowing out behind it. The woman stepped out of the darkness, her gown a liquid mirror reflecting and emitting heavenly light. Bright yellow-gold eyes starred levelly back at him. _

_The Goddess Divinity, the embodiment of the starlight. _

"_**He is angry, sister. He knows not what he says. Let us calm his raging heart.**" Another face appeared, the soft white light that permeated down her body revealing a gown that glowed like the surface of the glittering moon. Crystal clear blue eyes looked down at the Prince gravely from a soft face. _

_The Goddess Tranquility. The embodiment of the moonlight. _

"_**I do not take kindly to insults. Consolation is your element, sister. I will not partake.**" Gold light clashed and intermingled with the silvery white and sharp platinum of the other goddesses. Angry ruby-maroon eyes glittered down at him with the force of a thousand suns. _

_The Goddess Eternity. The embodiment of the sunlight. _

_Atemu's intense anger fled in the faces of heaven. Despair filled the void of the volatile red flame that had swarmed within his chest. "How can you take him from me?" He pleaded. "How am I supposed to go on without him?" _

"_**War simmers on the horizon, grandchild. You are entering an atmosphere of battle that has never before been seen upon this earth. The World Beyond is in upheaval. The Wicked One threatens the very thresholds of our sanctuaries Beyond." ** Tranquility's voice chimed brighter and clearer than a thousand temple bells. _

"_How can I fight this without him? How will I go on? Why _him_? Of all people? Why would you have him be the soul that's destined to bond with me? It's not _fair!_" _

"_**The child turns trite,**" Eternity spoke. Her unhappiness with the Prince's behavior was tangible The very air crackled with tiny solar flares around her. "**I would love to be informed when life began catering to our every wish. Do you not understand, Prince of Sekesha? The existence of your Goddesses hang in the balance! The Wicked One will destroy every last one of us, and cast this world to blood! The life of the last Assai to be born will save every being within your borders and beyond. Questchal will finally be under the rule of the Crown. The wars will end!" **_

_The Goddesses themselves were in danger? Could they possibly be that fallible? "But the universe would cease to exist without you. How could he destroy you?" _

_Divinity spoke with a thousand tiny stars glittering in her perfect strands of hair."**Do not be daft, Prince. Everything is subject to change. Including us. Including our parents. Their hands have not been able to touch Questchal soil for ten thousand years." **_

_Atemu had nearly forgotten about the parents of the Three Sisters. The perfect ideals. They had no names, no faces attached to their forms. They were simply two perfect beings. One, the embodiment of Eternal Peace and Unfailing Love, the other the embodiment of Fair Justice and Unwavering Loyalty. Little was spoken about them. Even less was known about them. Atemu doubted if anyone outside of the Eternal Palace and the Haven of the Elves knew about them. _

Everything is subject to change. Including us. Including our parents.

"_How long do I have with him?" _

"_**We cannot give you a certain amount of time," **Tranquility stated. "**No future is certain. However, you can knows this; the war is over when Yuugi dies. His death will mark the beginning of a new era of peace. Powers of old will begin to appear, and the Empire of Sekesha will regain its former glory.**" _

_A tear pricked at the corner of his crimson colored eye, his eyes so much like the gold goddess's that was glowering at him. He fell to his knees, defeated. "Forgive me. My anger was not at you. My anger stemmed from the fact that I can not control and keep the most precious thing in my life. Yuugi will not even be able to see and experience the joy that he will give to us." _

_The Goddesses laughed. All three of them. "**Fear not**!" Tranquility cried. _

"_**He will not be gone forever**!" Divinity declared. _

"_**We never said his soul would be erased,**" Eternity chided. "**You know as well as we that reincarnation exists, along with awareness after death. You will not be separated for ever.**" _

_It was the only hope that he could hold on to, lest he fall to despondence. They would meet again. Eternity _would_ be theirs to spend together. "Thank you." _

"_**Have faith, grandchild. My mother has told me how fond she is of Yuugi. Even if anything happened to him, you can be certain the cosmos would bend the realities you know and don't know to bring him back. The last Assai is a treasure we have all been anticipating.**" _

"_**You must have your child soon, though," **Divinity warned. "**You will not have time after the Bonding ceremony. Organize the ritual as soon as Yuugi is through with his training. Otherwise, everything will be lost. Remember this."** _

"_**You may also tell the Assai that his parents say hello, and allow him to know how proud they are of him.**" As Eternity's voice died away, so did the bodies of the Goddesses. As quickly as they appeared before him, they were gone, and the Hall of Remembrance was once again steeped in shadows..._

Atemu awoke with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. Why did he keep dreaming about the night he and Yuugi had returned from Northern Reach? Hadn't he made peace yet with what was to come?

The Goddesses had not been happy with the way he challenged fate. He would also be the first to admit it; he'd been foolish to howl his anger at them so quickly. Yes, he was the descendent of Tranquility, and related to Her sisters, and was therefore more spiritually closer to them than even the priestesses of their temples. Anyone else other than Yuugi would have been shunned by them until they opened their hearts up to accept their mistake. However, it did not give him the right to question what they knew. They could See far more than him. They knew what would happen, even though they would not tell. He was lucky they hadn't been angrier with him. Eternity especially. She was the warrior, the fighter, and the strongest in battle than any other goddess or god known or unknown. She could have snuffed him out like a winter candle.

Yuugi's breathing slowly entered his train of though, and seduced it to pay attention to the body next to him in bed. "_Kono mongatari wa toosaku sareta mono desu orginaru no sakusha wa gin no yuri desu,"_ Yuugi muttered in his sleep. "_Onjinaru no saito e itte yonde kudasai." _

Yuugi. The endless source of love and despair in his life. Atemu hadn't been able to tell his younger lover just what his lot in the celestial chain of events was. How could he tell that beautiful face that it was up to him to save the life of not only earth, but heaven as well? How could he watch those crystal purple eyes well with tears of frustration and helplessness?

He couldn't. That was just the thing. He downright couldn't tell him.

Perhaps that was why his dreams were plaguing him. Whenever the subject of the future came up, he'd clam up and say hardly a word. Yuugi would always press for answers, and Atemu would always refuse, or divert the subject to more stable grounds.

The only thing he found himself able to repeat from that night was the message from his parents. Yuugi had been dazzled and shocked at what they said, and curious how the Prince had acquired such a message. 'The Goddesses' had been a simply enough answer, and Yuugi never questioned to know more.

Oh, goddess, Yuugi...

His training was nearly over. It had been decided that Yuugi needed to travel to the Elves and receive the last instructions any tutor alive could give him. His talents had accelerated far beyond anyone's highest expectations. Atemu had to even admit it to himself that Yuugi was stronger than him.

Much, much stronger.

There was a gaping hole in the earth larger than the Divine City that Yuugi had created at practice one day with Daemon. They had teleported to the most remote region in Sekesha to see what the extent of Yuugi's powers had reached to.

Yuugi wasn't even winded.

Atemu's heart was bleeding. Never could he have guessed how hard this would be. Surely the perfect ideals, the parents of the Sisters, had a hand in his making. They had to. Yuugi was the most divine creature that walked on the planet.

The foot of their huge bed grumbled out a satisfied snort. Atemu looked down, seeing the sun dragon Helios on his back, sleeping the night away. Sun dragons grew slowly, luckily. Three years after his hatching and he was only the size of a small colt. Although, as he aged, the spots of maroon in his eyes filled up the areas of blue, as was normal with his species. He made an intimidating spot in the dark if a stranger happened upon their chambers.

The dragon made a sound between a snore and a snort, rolled onto his back, and kicked at the air like a sleeping dog. He truly was an amusing companion. He'd taken to following Yuugi all over the palace. Atemu had to admit, it was nice to have a dragon by Yuugi's side when he couldn't be there. Yuugi could certainly take care of himself, but confrontations, if ever they might have felt the urge to appear, were immediately ceased when that golden head lifted itself up and dropped down into Yuugi's lap, growling for attention. Yuugi would only laugh, but council members and patrons of the court were always intimidated and minded their tongue. People had a tendency to push for what they wanted if they believed they could get away with it. And Yuugi, with his small stature and young face, always looked impressionable and naive.

Oh, how wrong they were to assume as such.

The windows at the balcony rumbled and shook, just a little. Atemu wouldn't have noticed it had he been asleep. Helios awoke instantly. He rolled over and swivelled his head towards the balcony. His eyes were glowing in the darkness.

Alarm bells rang without remorse in Atemu's head. His instincts were wrought with tension. Shuffling feet slid along the marble floor light and hollow, as if they were covered with dust. He rolled over, but could not see a figure anywhere. Helios growled deeply from his belly.

Atemu allowed a ball of black energy to form sluggishly in his hand. It wasn't the first time Helios had woken up growling. False alarms had been such instances as when a bird flew in from the open doorway one time last summer, or a piece of clothing hadn't been put away properly and finally fell from its resting spot on the edge of the dresser.

"Who's there!" Yuugi sat up and summoned a ball of light in his hands, washing the room with silver illumination. A figure in black stood just beyond the glass doorway, a dagger in each hand. Helios roared angrily as shots of gold sparked out of his nostrils.

"Stop!" Atemu barked, and flung his ball of energy at the masked figure as they ran back to the balcony. Black energy chains wrapped around them, but still they ran.

Helios flapped his wings and was up without pause. His already large talons and still growing teeth captured the person before they could reach the marble railing.

Both Yuugi and the Prince were out of bed at the same moment. Yuugi's insides shook with apprehension and annoyance. Who would have the guts to scale the palace walls and attempt to enter their room?

Atemu was downright pissed. How dare someone attempt such a crime! "Who are you!" He barked. "Answer in the name of the Crown!"

Helios held on to the person as if he were a giant chew toy. They could now see it was a stocky man with a clean shaven head. "_Esto'ch enir'ral shtu-ne! Pes's nar -- a -yokch buss'en!" _

Helios pushed his claws into the man's ribs, and he screamed.

Yuugi was now angry, himself. He knew that language now as the native tongue of Questchal. Wrarrl. Gods. Even the name of it felt somehow dirty to pronounce.

Atemu watched how as Yuugi drew his hand back, light poured out of his skin to coat his hand and arm. When he swung his arm back around, the glowing energy grabbed the man around his neck and heaved him up. Helios fought to keep his hold on the Questchalite, his claws never leaving gaps in the ribs they'd found. "_Answer my inquiry, man. Who are you? Why do you threaten my home? Ehnahyeh esehn uhnyu. Eshehn ah meh lyiah undeh. Aneh." _

Atemu shivered as Yuugi spoke _Assalyaseh_, the sacred language of Sekesha. Yuugi'd learned so much in the few short years he'd been in this world...

The man's eyes glazed over. The power around his neck, and the magick spoken to his ears, forced the truth from his lips.

After all, Yuugi's truth spells were unbreakable.

"_The Great One sent me. The One True One. You stand in his way of victory. He will defeat you. I, Lord Char'le'maichin have sworn to see His will fulfilled." _

Helios snarled and pushed his claws deeper. The light still around the man's throat prevented the scream, but the pain was evident in his dark brown eyes. "No, Helios. Don't spill blood in this room. We will have Mahaado take him down to the dungeons. We'll deal with him later."

The dragon growled and hissed viciously, but he obliged to Yuugi's request. The only compensation the dragon gave himself was to slash at the man's kneecaps, rendering him unable to stand. It was only then that he let go. Although he couldn't speak to either Yuugi or Atemu, he was just as intelligent as the Sacreds.

Just as Yuugi released his spell, Atemu had summoned the guard in question.

The rest of the evening, sleep was cancelled, and meetings were being held.

"This is the second assassination attempt this month," Isis was saying, trying to choke down her incredibly early morning tea.

"The fifth one this year," a member of the council stated. Yuugi had come to learn his name was Seth. Had it been allowed, he probably wouldn't have been a priest by choice, but men were not allowed the honor of priesthood in Sekesha. It was reserved only for the women.

"I think Yuugi needs to go to the Elves now," Jono spoke up, somehow the most awake out of any of them. Yuugi wondered if the blonde captain was human at all. "It'll throw off any more of these fool hearty idiots from knowing where he is."

"Even Ayana informed me she has nothing else she can teach him," The Priestess spoke up. "Daemon is also getting beaten up left and right. They can't keep up with him anymore."

"You realize that if he goes I have to go with him," Atemu stated. "You know the codes of the Elves just as much as I do. I myself have to ask for them to grant permission for anyone to enter their territory. That's one of the conditions of the Treaty of Evansarh. It doesn't matter who he is. Are we ready for me to step away for a while? Especially with all of the insurgents at the borders? Bandits are getting worse."

"True," Jono replied, "but we have a lot more Guardians on force. Those six hundred newborn dragons from El-Ekehrah are fully fledged. They're fighting off the attacks without hardly blinking."

"They could get worse, though," Seth warned. "And become more scattered."

"Do we even have a time line of how long I will be gone?" Yuugi interjected.

Everyone at the oval table stopped for a moment to think. "Six months, I think," Isis stated. "Ayana spoke with me as well. She seemed quite certain that by the time six months arrived, you'd have finally reached the state to receive full control from the Sisters Themselves over your powers."

Yuugi looked back to Atemu. "Would you have to stay for the whole time?"

The Prince's heart sank, but he refused to let anyone know. Their time together was already so short, he did not want to cut it any shorter. "No."

"Well, I suppose it's settled then," Lilian stated. "By noon tomorrow, you two must be off. We can't have any more surprise attacks. Helios will accompany you there, and if you can sway him to do so, he should follow Atemu home. Yuugi will be under enough protection while with the elves. It is here that the greatest concern now lies."

_This is the beginning of the end,_ Atemu thought sullenly to himself. _I love you, Yuugi. When I must part with you, please never forget it..._

_xxx_

Mwahahahaha...

Gosh, but cliffies are so easy to write. I'm so sorry for all of you that have been waiting. I've been under the weather for months now, (literally, with a stomach lesion to boot) and have suffered writer's block. Sorry to those of you that have waited so long.

Oh, and to the Bitch that is till plagiarizing my work, burn in hell, fucker. Every time a kind soul sends me a link to your plagiarizing ways, a little part of my dies inside and causes another writer's freeze. Thanks. You really are the worst person on the face of the earth.

So, next time there's a delay, folks, you know why. It's all because of her. The Bitch. Stacey English. (She also has many, MANY other names, that are too long to mention here. Try this site: http / crimes. wawemail. com/

You'll see ALL about her.

So there. Eat that Paine. Stacey. Seth Kaiba. Assahineh. (MY WORD, BY THE WAY! MY WORD! I MADE THIS UP! IT'S RIGHT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY!) Or whatever the hell it is you're calling your lousy self these days. Bitch.


	22. Elendiah

_Dripping Wings_

Yuugi looked over at Atemu as he sat astride Senke and attempted to contemplate the look on the Prince's face. He'd been so melancholy ever since they'd left the Divine City. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were troubled. Every time he asked what the matter might be, or if there was anything he could do, Atemu would shake his head, offer a strained smile, and direct the conversation to something mundane.

The last time he asked, Atemu said he was fine and began to talk about the weather. The time before, he had started talking about bobbles gots.

Yuugi still didn't know what the hell a bobbles got(s)? was. He had a strange feeling he might never find out. He noticed that Astarte was ignoring the both of them, Senke and Atemu alike. Many times Senke had moved closer to nuzzle her head while they walked, or give a playful nip at her hair, and Yuugi's mare would always make an awful screeching noise, and either attempt to kick the black stallion or bite his ears off. Yuugi was baffled. He knew the two had been quite sweet on each other for quite some time. Yuugi even had the strange inkling that Astarte had finally gotten pregnant.

Perhaps that was why _she_ was so cranky...

But that still didn't explain why Atemu was so down. "Sweetheart," Yuugi started, glad that they were walking through a forest he'd never been in before. No interruptions from palace officials this time. "I know you're upset about something. If you tell me you're not, you know as well as I that it is a blatant lie. Remember your promise? No more secrets. Tell me what bothers you."

Atemu shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. "I'm probably making a bigger deal out of the problem than it really is," he started.

Yuugi turned in his saddle and gave him a stern look. He knew Atemu rarely overreacted. He couldn't afford such a luxury in his position.

The Prince looked around uneasily. "The border raids are getting worse. I know Enochnral is on the move. War is on the horizon. We can't avoid it anymore."

Yuugi turned the response over in his head. The worry _seemed_ justifiable... "Darling, we've known this was going to come for a while. We've had another three years of relative peace. As painful as we all know this is going to be...I know what's going to come. I don't understand why you're so shaken up. You've got the one thing the Queschtal army doesn't - you've got me. They won't stand a chance."

Astarte was walking slightly ahead of Senke, and Atemu was grateful for this, because it meant Yuugi didn't see him when he slouched in on himself. He felt somehow cold under the autumn sun. _That's what has me so upset,_ the Prince thought to himself. _We will win, and in the end, it'll cost your life. _Instead, he only said; "The future is never certain. I nearly lost you at Northern Reach, only heaven knows what will happen against Queschtal." _They sure do. They know _exactly_ what's going to happen. _

Yuugi pulled back on Astarte's reins and forced the mare to slow her pace. He was finally allowed to see Atemu's face without turning around. "I love you," he started, "and I know your concern. But Atemu...you know as well as I do that's not it. There is something else. You've been acting like someone's about to die ever since...well...ever since we came back home from Kyanah's Hold. _Tell me what's going on!_" The growl of Astarte caught his attention, and he tugged a little on the reins again. "Behave," he chided as he noticed the look she was giving Senke. She snorted at him, but turned her head to look in the other direction just the same.

"Really, Yuugi, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

If Yuugi hadn't been so suddenly angry about Atemu's obsession with this secret, he'd have wondered at the tensing of Astarte beneath him. "Damn it, Atemu! No lies! You look like you could puke at any moment! You can _trust _me! I thought you new that! Don't lie to me, Atemu! Why do you always look like you're about to break down?"

Atemu seemed to shrink in on himself, but he remained dutifully silent.

"Atemu, no matter what, I will always be there for you! I'll help you through whatever problem there is!"

_You won't be there to help me!_ Atemu screamed in his mind. _You'll be dead!_

Yuugi watched confused as Atemu yelled in frustration, then kicked Senke into a dead run. Yuugi's jaw forgot how to remain closed. "Oh, he did _not_ just do that! After them, Astarte! We'll show them this has gone far enough!" He whistled for Helios, who he knew was flying just above him.

She neighed in glee and ran off after the retreating from of Senke and the Prince.

The forest stretched on endlessly. Had he not been so angry, Yuugi would have enjoyed himself. He'd never been in the forests of Senah-Reh-Lahn. It was for the most part devoid of human life, but Atemu had told him that was primarily because the vast acreage was Elven hunting grounds. People were not generally welcomed, and all of the residents of Sekesha knew as such.

Yuugi and Astarte grew ever closer to their chase. The white mare was close enough to bite a few tail hairs off of Senke. Yuugi had a strange inkling that she would have enjoyed such as task, too. Helios fly by his side, just close enough to brush his wing against Yuugi's leg. Just as Yuugi was contemplating how best to grab a hold of Senke's reins, the view of the forest ahead of them seemed to change. His senses tingled with foreboding, despite the beautiful picture in front of him.

The forest had turned greener than anything he'd ever seen. It seemed even the air had acquired the green growth hue of new life. The sunlight looked like gold falling through the leaves. The grass was so green it was nearly blue.

His stomach did a flip-flop, and it caused all of the acid inside to squirm in a way that burned. _It's an illusion. It's a bad, _bad_ illusion meant to kill..._

Atemu threw one of his hands in front of him and black shadow energies raced out and arched up. As it spread wide, it pulsed eerily with a red-green glow. Atemu was making a shield. Yuugi nearly choked with fear. _He wouldn't! He's planning to go through it! Whatever magick made this, it's potent and powerful. It could kill him! _Yuugi threw his hand out as well and added fuel to the burning black fire that now encircled them. Good thing, too, for the moment they crossed the threshold of the illusion, Yuugi found they were no longer running in a forest. The white outside of the shadow shield coalesced with strange spears of light that reminded Yuugi of shooting stars. The part of his sight that recognized energies noticed just how _sharp_ they looked. _This place would cut anyone to ribbons. Who would place it here? Why? _

Finally, after excruciating minutes of running and holding up a shield that was getting constantly attacked, the image of the forest was on the outside of their shield again. Yuugi and Atemu both lowered their shields.

Finally! The Prince had stopped running! Yuugi readied himself to jump him if he had to, knock him to the ground, and pin him there until he spewed answers.

"_Halt, intruders! Prepare to beg the Goddesses for mercy!_"

Yuugi's heart caught in his throat. Helios hissed loudly as he landed on the ground. Suddenly, out of a million different directions, arrows tipped with a silvery fire headed their way. Atemu was still slightly in front of him. He'd get hit first. _I may be angry at him, but they're not going to take him away from me!_ Yuugi summoned both of his Gifts and created a new shield. When the arrows finally hit the shield, they burned into ashes and fell harmless to the ground.

Yuugi's shield was a light shield, primarily. He could see properly what was on the other side. Blurred figures moved back and forth as if they were attempting to confuse him. _You'll never be able to hide those spears from me._ One of those figures, a mage or Gifted without a doubt, thrust his energy spear right into the shield.

Yuugi's heart sank when it started to penetrate. _That's not possible! How can it penetrate? The energy of my light shield should be burning that energy spear into nothingness! _He forced more power into his shield, attempting to buy himself some time to think. _Perhaps burning the attacks away is not right. I need something more solid. _Shadows were solid, when forced to be. Shadows could snuff just about anything. Yuugi narrowed his eyes and concentrated. To the outside of the shield, he added a thick layer of shadows. The next layer he allowed the light that he had used to sink down, then he added another new layer of shadows, then another of light. _I certainly hope a four-layered shield is enough to stop them._ The figure with the spear kept pushing, but Yuugi could feel that the figure was now trying very hard. It was a person, he saw, and a male at that. A bead of sweat dripped down the man's brow.

Yuugi kept his hands raised, never daring to let the shields down.

The swirling images outside of Yuugi's shield finally stopped moving, and a regal voice spoke. "We now see you, strangers, and accept your prowess. Lower your shields and explain why you have trespassed into our lands."

"Not until I have your word nothing within your lands, or anything beyond these lands in your control, will harm us," Yuugi stated.

Another person seemed to nod to the male that had nearly penetrated Yuugi's spear, and then they replied. "You have my word."

Yuugi knew how good someone's word was worth in Japan, but he knew people had different morals in this land. Knowing he'd have another berserker rage if anything happened to them, he dropped the shields.

A land of silver and green lay on the other side.

The figures Yuugi could now make out as men and women. They wore robes that were swirled with silver and silver-green. They blended into their landscape almost painfully well. Some of them had their hair pulled half up, and Yuugi could see their ears. _Oh, man, these are the Elves. I was close to demolishing all of them. I'm sure _that_ would have gone over _very_ smoothly._

"State your names!" The male Yuugi had first identified barked.

"Tis I, Prince Atemu of Sekesha!" Atemu replied. "I come to speak with your Queen, the Great Lady Asarnyah-Nah-Leah."

The 'head' Elf did not look in the least convinced. "We see no reason to believe you, human. Reveal your proof."

Yuugi watched in shock as Atemu revealed his glorious pale gold wings. They were an aching and beautiful contrast to the silver of their surroundings.

"And you? Creator of the one shield I have never been able to penetrate?" The Elf addressed Yuugi.

Yuugi revealed his wings, much to the confounded surprise of all those watching. "I am the last Assai Yuugi, the Betrothed of Prince Atemu of Sekesha."

Silenced prevailed amongst the small group that surrounded them. The head Elf cleared his throat, and finally allowed the light spear in his hand to finally disappear. "Welcome to Elendiah, friends. I am Galorain-Leh-Roh. Please allow us to escort you to the Queen." He looked around at some of the sulking faces of the other Elves. "We weren't expecting you to come in from the south side. We have mainly green youth in this area. They can be...overzealous at times."

Yuugi wondered about this Galorain's own involvement, but he supposed the Elf probably got caught up in the infectious excitement of a large amount of people suddenly out for blood.

Astarte started to walk before Senke did. Yuugi managed to get in a nasty glare at Atemu that clearly said '_we'll continue our little discussion later.' _Atemu flushed, but remained quiet.

_xxx_

It was a full two hours later till they finally reached the first signs of civilization. Most of the party had stayed behind to continue their guard duties, but a few had followed. Yuugi was making light conversation with one of the women Elves that was walking next to Astarte. The mare seemed extremely pleased as the Elf woman, Shelain-Deh-Enah, if Yuugi remembered correctly, kept running her thin fingers through Astarte's mane.

"Training, you say?" the Elf asked. "What training could we offer you? Elves use primarily cold light, you know. Humans haven't had that Gift for nearly eight thousand years."

"I'm not sure myself," Yuugi admitted. "One of my tutors at the palace is a Myste Elf. She said that my healing Gift is akin to the Elven form of healing."

Shelain-Deh-Enah looked up at him. "You don't tire?"

"Never."

She seemed to think to herself for a moment. "Well, perhaps there _is_ something our scholars here will be able to teach you. You know...I'm surprised your Sacred hasn't been helping you train."

Yuugi looked at her puzzled. "How do you mean? How could she?"

The Elf looked shocked. "They're intelligent creatures! Goodness, they're nearly as magickal as unicorns. She has a vast amount of knowledge she was born with. Why haven't you ever asked her?"

"Well, I can't," Yuugi fumbled. "I've never been able to. I don't have telepathy."

"No mind speech?" the Elf wondered. Then her bright face seemed to become even brighter. "Oh, we'll be able to remedy that. You'll be having conversations with your Sacred in no time."

Yuugi's mind started to real. _I'll be able to talk with Astarte? _ "Will I be able to talk to Helios, too?" Yuugi looked over to the Sun dragon that was lazily walking by Astarte on the other side.

"Certainly! You'll be able to get information from all kinds of other animals, too. If you need a bird's eye view from above, you can use birds, hawks, or whatever else is up there."

Yuugi put his hand to his head. "Wow." _I'll be able to talk with Astarte. I'll be able to talk with her! _He suddenly felt ridiculously giddy.

The Elves, as Yuugi had come to learn, lived both on the ground and up in the trees. Enormous houses the size of mansions had been strung up between multiple trees, and the walkways that stretched out created a maze of catwalks. Strands of silver seemed to hang off of everything.

And the lights! Lights of every color! Blues and silvers and yellows and greens, and they lit up the land of Elendiah brighter than the moon, as night had finally descended. Yuugi and Atemu found themselves having to dismount and climb into a lift, so that they might see the Queen. Her home rested far above the city, and her view if the stars was rumored to be the best on the earth.

The lift did not rise on ropes and pulleys. Yuugi realized, after they'd started to rise, that it was a cloud-like silver dust that elevated them. Yuugi thought back to the first month he'd been in Sekesha, and how Atemu had summoned a dragon's blood fruit across the room on that same silvery cloud. Gods, that seemed like forever ago...Yuugi suddenly found himself stuck with a case of nostalgia for the old days. Things _had_ been so much simpler then. He was seventeen when he first came to Sekesha. Now he was twenty one, nearly twenty two years old. _Time really has flown by..._

The lift stopped, finally, in the highest area of the trees. The only way these places could be stable, aside from the trunks that were larger around than the biggest redwoods California had to offer, was by magick.

The palace of the Queen was a welcoming sight. It seemed to hover within the trees of Elendiah, with steps that were long lengthwise and short height wise. Spiral towers framed the structure, and the giant entryway of purple-heart wood doors boasted a warm welcome.

Atemu placed himself at Yuugi's side, much to Yuugi's surprise and slight chagrin. He sure had nerve! Running off like that, then acting as if nothing were wrong! "Do not bow," he whispered in Yuugi's ear. "Only give a polite nod. That is the custom between royalties. Only nobility and below bow to their superiors."

Yuugi filed the information away. "You're in big trouble," he whispered back. "Don't think I've forgotten anything. You just wait until we're done with this, you'll rue the day you ever uttered your first lie-" Yuugi's threat was cut off when Galorain-Leh-Roh spoke up.

"Welcome, my Lords, to the palace of Queen Asarnyah-Nah-Leah, the Great Lady of Elendiah." He opened the doors, bowed, then cleared the way for them. Atemu looked like he was walking to the gallows, and Yuugi nearly gloated. Let him feel guilty. He should think about how awful he's been.

The Queen was a tall, willowy Elf with pale gold hair like corn silk. "Come, my Lords," she called from her platinum covered throne. "Elendiah welcomes you!" Vines of silver and platinum covered the walls and ceilings. Lights of blue and yellow glowed from sconces that imitated calla lilies. Yuugi realized calla lilies, while used for funerals in the world he came from, were a symbol of the goddesses here in this world. It was a refreshing change.

Yuugi and Atemu approached the throne. Queen Asarnyah-Nah-Leah nodded her head in acknowledgment. Yuugi and the Prince nodded their heads at the same time in reply.

"Tell me, Great Prince, why do you come before me tonight?"

"I ask for you assistance, ally of Sekesha. A war threatens our life, our home, and our future. My Betrothed, the last Assai left, is in need of your expert training. Otherwise, the Goddesses are sure that this war will wipe out all that exists within our borders." Atemu knew how this comment would affect the Elves as well. Under the Treaty of Evensarh, it was decided that Sekesha would leave the Elves alone in their homeland, surrounded by the Ribbon Barrier. The Ribbon Barrier was what he and Yuugi had passed through, the first and last line of defense for the Elven borders. If those borders were breached, it was Sekesha's duty to protect them, as Elendiah was completely surrounded by Sekeshan territory. An attack on the Elves was an attack on Sekesha. However, in turn for the protection, if ever the current ruler of Sekesha was in need of Elven aid, the Elves were required to oblige their request, so long as it was within reason. (The paperwork that listed 'within reason' went on for nearly forty pages. Atemu had tried to read it once, but simply gave up, opting to ask Isis for answers if he ever needed to.)

Atemu's statement threatened not only Sekesha's existence, but the Elves' as well.

The Queen nodded at him. "We will offer all that we can. Please, stay a while, sleep, dine with us tomorrow, and take your leave when you must." She nodded once more, and Yuugi and Atemu did likewise. At this, their escort from before gave them over to someone else, who showed them to a room within the palace. Yuugi steeled himself for a fight, if he needed to have one, and allowed the door of their room to slam shut.

Atemu winced.

"Talk to me," Yuugi hissed. "Tell me _why!_"

The Prince looked so helpless as he stood there, his head hung low, his shoulders slouched, and his from somehow shorter. "I can't..."

Yuugi walked up to him, grabbed his shoulders tightly, and looked up into that pained face. "Why? Why are you shutting me out!"

Finally, Yuugi dropped the last straw. Atemu broke down before him and started to cry. He fell to his knees and began to cry into Yuugi's chest. "I'm not, I'm _not!" _He repeated as hot tears spilled down his face. "Please, Yuugi, please, I can't tell you. I just can't...It would kill me."

Yuugi's anger flooded away. Even when Senke was on his deathbed, Atemu hadn't been nearly so...so...filled with utter despair.

Yuugi sunk to his knees and wrapped Atemu up in what he hoped was a comforting embrace. "It's...it's okay. Really." The arms around his chest squeezed more tightly. _Why does he act like I'm a life-line that's about to die out? _"Atemu...who's going to die?"

The Prince sobbed. "Please...I can't..."

Yuugi was, by now, so confused he wasn't sure how to make sense out of any of it. _This has more behind it than just worry over the war... _"I'm here. Don't worry. I'll never leave you. I'll...I'll wait till you're ready to tell me, okay?"

The tears ceased, but the hug remained as iron as ever. "I can't lose you," Atemu whispered, the sound broken.

Yuugi caressed Atemu's tear stained cheek. "You never will. No matter what happens. If I die, if you die, if anything-anything at all!- nothing will part us, Atemu. My heart will always belong with you. And with my heart is my life."

The Prince's body trembled a bit, but he finally loosened his hold just enough to look Yuugi in the eye. _This is worse than the way he looked at Northern Reach_, Yuugi thought despairingly to himself.

Atemu ran his hands softly over Yuugi's face. They traced his eyebrows, touched his forehead, smoothed over his cheek, and indulged in the feel of Yuugi's lips. "Make love to me tonight?"

Yuugi nodded, then leaned in for a kiss. It was soft and tender, and a blatant invitation for Atemu to take over and do what he willed. _He needs the control this love making can give him tonight. At least it's something that I can offer._

The Prince lifted him up off the floor and gently set him down on the bed. Yuugi placed his hands by his head on the pillow and released control. Atemu leaned down and devoured him in a kiss, and initiated love making that would last for hours.


	23. Velinah

**Dripping Wings**

Yuugi opened his eyes slowly. The view of a shining platinum ceiling glowing in early morning sunlight greeted his vision. Atemu was on top of him, the Prince's arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Love making the night before felt desperate, as though Yuugi could feel his lover's anguish reaching out to him. _I wish I could make it better, whatever it is. I wish he would tell me. _If he pushed the matter further, however, Yuugi was afraid that Atemu would pull away from him even further.

His attention was drawn elsewhere when he heard the call of a bird from somewhere beyond their balcony door. It was not the sound of a songbird, or a raven or crow, but rather, it was the untamed cry of a falcon. A bird of prey. The Elves were known for their birds. Atemu had explained to him once about the regions of Sekesha, and the types of animals that were rode in them. In the area of the Divine City and the far north, it was the Sacred horses that were most rode. In the desert region of El-Ehkerah, it was the Sacred dragons that were in greater numbers. The Elves, however, had their own form of Sacreds, which were giant, falcon type birds of varying colors that were favored. These birds, called Ceryll Gyres, were large enough to ride, and often times larger, and that was exactly what the Elves used them for.

The cry from outside sounded very much like one of those Gyres.

Yuugi pulled himself out from underneath of the Prince's death grip and stood. He stretched his arms wide and wiggled his toes. The green and silver marble he stood on had warmed under the sunlight. Yuugi walked over to the balcony and pulled his wings out of the in-between dimension. He rarely took them out. It seemed the army that was with them in Northern Reach, and the Ice Gifted from the far frigid north did not speak of his wings much. After the tales that had been told when they returned, they were chalked up to only being an addition to the fabulous tale to bedazzle children.

Yuugi felt it was best that way. No awkward questions. No dodging questions. No wayward glances.

Yuugi stretched his wings wide and relished in the feel of the morning sun cascading over his feathers. The towering trees of Elendiah shimmered as the leaves danced in and out of golden light as they swayed on the breeze. The place was nearly more beautiful than the Divine City. Yuugi could easily see how an Elf would never want to leave their city.

Warm arms wrapped around him tightly. "Good morning, sweetheart," Atemu whispered in his ear.

Yuugi watched a pair of wings flap in the distance and squeezed back at the arms around him. "Why do you suppose the Goddesses made us?" he asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Atemu asked him curiously.

"Us. The Assai. Why were we made? What was the purpose for us?"

The question threw Atemu for a loop. He had at first believed that Yuugi was asking about life in general, but to hear him ask about the Assai and refer to them as 'us,' made him give second thoughts to the question.

"Well, from what I have come to learn, the truth of the past is a little hard to believe. People don't know this, and most never will. In Sekesha, there are different ranks in society. The first and lowest rank is the average citizen. They have no other responsibilities than worrying about average life and work. The next rank is Guardian. It is the role of the Guardians to protect the citizens of this country, and act as the cavalry for an army when required. The next rank is Royalty, and only immediate Royalty at that. The Royal family protects the Guardians and citizens alike. Nobility has no more rank than the next citizen aside from connections and money. There used to be another rank that went right between Guardian and Royalty, and that was the Assai." He paused here and ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "The Assai were created to be the guardians of the Royal family. I saw recordings of the memories of those from that time, Yuugi, when the palace halls were swarmed with Assai warriors. It was glorious..."

Yuugi waited for Atemu to continue. This was information he'd never been privy to before.

"The Assai were, well...they were much more divine than any other creature on this planet. The Assai were the born protectors of the Royals. I don't think it was in their blood to ever do anything wrong, just as they couldn't turn the sky purple."

This was interesting news. Yuugi decided quickly that contemplating the right things versus the wrong things he'd ever done in his life probably wouldn't change anything, and thus decided to not dwell on it. Best not to make his head hurt if there was no need. Instead, he walked closer to the balcony. "Let's go for a flight this morning," he said. He looked back at Atemu's warm ruby eyes. "Please?"

Atemu smiled at him and released his wings. "I'll race you."

x x x

Yuugi hugged Atemu tightly. The Prince had only been able to stay with him for a month, and now it was well past the time when he needed to head back to the capital. He had wondered about being separated from the Prince with the blood bond in tact, but Atemu assured him that he would only be traveling by foot to get there. As long as no magickal transportation was used, they would be fine. Also, the Ribbon Barrier apparently acted as a sort of shield, making it harder for the bond to drag Yuugi along with the Prince. "I'm going to miss you," Yuugi whispered into his ear. It was going to be the first time they'd ever been separated for a long period of time.

"I know love. I will see you soon. Five months. Five months and counting."

Yuugi backed up and watched Atemu mount Senke. "Don't die on the way home, okay?"

The Prince laughed. "Come home safely to me."

Helios crooned sadly at Yuugi's side. He bent down and rubbed vigorously behind the dragon's horns. It was one of Helios's favorite spots to get a rub. "You protect him for me, all right? I'm counting on you. Don't worry. I'll be home soon."

The dragon crooned again and blinked his huge watery eyes, but turned around and began to walk alongside of the Prince's black Sacred. Atemu winked at him and waved one last time before nudging Senke in the side and they started to move.

Yuugi waved until they were out of sight, escorted by a troop of Elven guards. Goddess, how he was going to miss him.

"Well, my dear Betrothed friend, are you ready to get back to your training?"

Yuugi looked back to the Elf that had been training him in Cold Light healing since his arrival, Lady Cercinah-Kor-Seah. "My dear Lady, your are a regular slave driver, aren't you?"

The light green haired elf laughed. "Hop to it, boy! You won't be any kind of King if you can't even heal a poisoned bleshnum-bo!"

Yuugi groaned. Bleshnum-bo's. The bane of all humanity, surely. Silly little creatures that belonged to the Elves. They were a lot like goats, but thicker, harder, and damned near impossible to penetrate their practically concrete hide. If one ever did get poisoned, it would take a month for it to die, and hours and hours of hard, concentrated, laborious hours to try and pull every last tendril of poison out of the creature. Yuugi had never tired before when healing, but the Elves were pushing him to his very limits.

They had yet to do so with his light and shadow Gifts, but they were coming close. If Daemon and Ayana had taught him how to conjure grand shows, then the Elves were showing him how to pump as much power into one concentrated little area as possible without passing out. What Yuugi didn't know is that some of the Elven tutors were wondering if Yuugi didn't need to stay as long as originally planned. His powers were beyond even their wildest imaginations. There were very few Elves that could heal as well as he could, and his training had only gone on for a few months that concentrated on the healing of the Elves.

"My dear, I don't think Tranquility herself could heal a bleshnum-bo."

The Elven woman tisked. "Ever the pessimist. Off with you now, You've got work to do!"

Yuugi groaned but did as he was told.

x x x

Yuugi's eyes snapped open without hesitation. He wasn't sure why he woke up when he did, it as, after all, still night time. The stars were twinkling brightly in the night sky.

It was interesting how much brighter the stars were in Elendiah than elsewhere. The moon in the Divine City was the brightest thing in the night sky, in Elendiah, it was the stars.

Yuugi usually slept with his balcony door open when the weather was warm. He really enjoyed the soft breeze that came in and graced his senses. The air always smelled so fragrant. The sheer curtains billowed back into the room as the air current continued to blow. Yuugi sat up and rubbed his eyes. Whenever he woke up, he was painfully reminded of how empty his bed was. He missed Atemu so much it almost hurt.

He stood, stretched, and walked towards the balcony. His body was not tired, even though he had worn himself out to the point of passing out the day before. Border raids were getting worse, and the Elves had to protect their hunting grounds. Elendiah was closer to Queschtal than anyone wanted to admit. Hostilities were at their highest, and Yuugi was helping as much as he could to heal all of the Elven fighters that were injured. Yesterday, he'd gone out himself and helped fight. It was good practice for when the full scale war that he was sure to partake in finally arrived.

A black spot on the moon grew larger and larger. Yuugi squinted his eyes to try and better see it. Once the black space when outside of the moon's circle, he realized that it was not on the moon, but rather, in the sky, and it was steadily heading his way.

Silver and platinum began to glow and shimmer on the figure of black. Yuugi backed up when the thing landed on his balcony railing, and gasped when the light finally revealed what he was looking at. The thing back winged as it landed and created a giant gust of wind as it did so.

It was a Gyre. A real, bonafide, Ceryll Gyre. Golden eyes blinked at him benevolently. The giant, hawk-like bird ruffled it's wings after landing and folded them in tightly. It had to squeeze into the double door opening. It just barely made it. The reflective feathers of the creature dropped off and created a myriad of tiny, mirror like shards that fluttered about the room.

Yuugi suddenly noticed that he hadn't breathed since it landed. He breathed in noisily, then respectfully closed his mouth. He gave a half bow of respect. "I...do not understand why you have come to my room at this hour, but I welcome you. Is there trouble? Am I needed?"

The bird gurgled deep within its throat and blinked. :_Hello, my dear Yuugi. There is not trouble yet, but there will be. I am here for you._:

Mental speech. Yuugi hadn't learned it yet. Apparently, it didn't matter to the Gyre, for it could talk to him anyway. The feminine voice of the bird seemed to fill his entire soul. "For me?" He asked. "Why?"

:_You have been aligned with the avatars of both Tranquility and Eternity. Now, it is your turn to gain the friendship of the avatar of Divinity. My name is Velinah, Yuugi, and I am your new companion._:

_The avatars of both Tranquility and Eternity..._ By Goddess...Astarte and Helios. "Oh my god," Yuugi whispered. "I..."

The ends of Velinah's beak moved, and it reminded Yuugi of a smile. :_Fear not, dear heart. You will not go into the future alone. You are our greatest treasure, and our salvation. The Goddesses favor you above all others. I will be by your side, if you'll have me._:

Yuugi was dumbfounded. He wasn't sure what to say, or how to say it. He felt his voice might fail him anyway. Nor was he sure why he was everyone's salvation. _One step at a time,_ he told himself. _Best not to dwell on something I don't understand. If the Goddesses favor me so much, they will keep me safe._ "Of course I'll have you," Yuugi said. A strangled laugh bubbled up in his throat. He wondered what Atemu would say about another animal following him around.

Velinah walked up to him and nuzzled the side of his face. He reached his hands up and touched her feathers. They felt silkier than smoother than any other thing on earth. "You're beautiful," he said.

Velinah clicked her bead. :_Of course I am. I'm a Ceryll Gyre. Let's go for a ride, Yuugi. I think you'll enjoy it._:

x x x

Yuugi stood stalk still as he starred up at his Sacred. Astarte was looking at him in bemusement. Her aloof green eyes were laughing. :_Can...um, can you understand me?_:

Astarte whinnied loudly. :_Clear as crystal, Yuugi._:

Yuugi grinned stupidly. Finally, he mastered mind speech! Finally:_This is so cool!_: He cried in excitement. :_I can talk to you! Whoo-hoo!_:

Astarte's bright voice laughed inside of his head.

:_Tell me,_: Yuugi asked deviously. :_Are pregnant like I think you are?_:

Astarte snorted. :_Yes. My offspring will be born at the end of the Winter Solstice._:

"Ha! I knew it!"

Cercinah-Kor-Seah, Yuugi's Elven tutor, looked at him curiously. "Knew what?" She asked.

Yuugi just giggled.

x x x

This chapter probably seems really abbreviated, but it's just the set up for the rest of the story. Boring, but necessary. Yuugi will be going home in the next chapter.


	24. New Arrival

**Dripping Wings**

Bells jingled merrily as horses pranced their way up the welcome isle. Snow flakes as big as pop corn fell upon the entourage as if in welcome. Astarte was kicking her knees up higher than normal, but her breaths were labored. :_How are you holding up, Astarte?_: Yuugi asked her mentally.

The white mare snorted. :_Very pregnant, how do you think?_:

Yuugi chuckled a little. :_I could have ridden Velinah back into the city._:

Astarte's head snapped up, and her ears went back. :_Ha! Ride the bird, would you? My hoof! I got to you first! _I'll_ carry you back home!_:

He shook his head and smiled. Astarte was a proud little creature. His entrance back into the city had become an entire occasion, and the entire population had turned out to greet them. Astarte knew that everyone was going to pay nearly as much attention to her as to Yuugi. She loved the opportunity to show off. Yuugi also knew that after all of the battles they'd been in, she deserved the honor.

The roar of the crowd's cheer was nearly deafening. Yuugi was returning home nearly a month and a half early, too, which was entirely unexpected. He exceeded the expectations of even his Elven tutors. Yuugi would be presented his Cleariahn Jewel, a coveted jewel that was given to every fully developed mage. It was like a diploma in jewelry form.

Velinah cried out from above, heralding his return. The palace steps were in full view, the deep purple rug leading right up to Atemu's waiting arms. _Atemu...!_ Yuugi's heart sang. Why, oh why did he have to be _walked_ up to him? Why couldn't he just run? Stupid customs! The steps seemed to take forever, and by the time they reached the top, Astarte was winded and out of breath. Her burden in her belly was huge, and her agility was nearly gone. She was grateful when Yuugi's weight was able to be removed when he dismounted.

Isis, Lillian, Atemu, and Jono were all standing on the Welcome Dias and smiling. Yuugi could not hold back the grin that cracked his face. Unable to take it any longer, he launched himself into Atemu's arms. "Oh, I missed you so much!"

"Yuugi! Welcome home!" The embrace was tight and cherished. "I've been waiting for you."

Yuugi closed his eyes and smiled. Atemu smelled wonderful. He'd missed that smell.

"Yuugi."

Yuugi opened his eyes and saw Lillian looking at him. He released his hug and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Now is as good of a time as any. Here, now, you will be honored with your Cleariahn Jewel." In her hands was a white cloth trimmed with gold. She unfolded the cloth and revealed an oval cut piece of glass, polished smooth. "It is your own powers that will rest within this jewel," she spoke clearly. "However, you must put more in this than just your Gifts. You must place your trust, your hopes, and your life into this stone, but most importantly, you must place your love. It is your love that all other hopes and desires and powers must rest in. Your jewel will be your keystone to your endeavors as a mage, and as such it must have no discontent or ill will to taint it. Take your stone, Yuugi, our newest mage, and turn it into a treasure."

Yuugi took a breath. He had been told nothing about this act with the stone, but he felt he knew how to proceed. Keystones were charged little rocks that a mage used to store energy in the direst times of need. Yuugi picked up the lifeless piece of glass and looked into it. All he saw was his hand beneath it. He closed his fingers around it softly and felt the smoothness of it. He was certain the finest glassblower in the country had crafted it for him. He closed his eyes and felt the powers of his Gifts buzzing through his bloodstream. He allowed the energy to seep through his skin and enter the awaiting glass jewel. Shadows, light, and the bountiful energy of his healing mingled and sang with each other in a harmony even he hadn't known before. Yuugi thought of his love for Atemu, and Astarte, and Helios and Velinah and all of the other people he'd met since coming to Sekesha. He thought of his parents, who's souls still lived on in the afterlife and were watching him. Everything he held so dear; he'd never been so happy in his entire life. That love, once he felt it brought to the top of his focus, leaped into his stone like it was meant to be there. Then his hopes followed. His hopes of keeping Atemu happy, of saving everyone from their enemies, and, most of all, the child that he knew he and Atemu would be having. He wasn't sure how this ritual was going to work, but he had faith, and that faith poured into the stone.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the glow around his hand fade away. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. Yuugi opened his hand and looked down at the stone.

It was no longer clear. It looked like there was a silvery, milky substance that was flowing around within it, and every so often it would glow a soft pink-maroon.

"Congratulations, Yuugi, you are now a mage. May your heart guide your head."

Yuugi smiled. That was an ancient Sekeshan proverb. It was custom to say it at such events, and especially when one went off to war. After all, it was the heart that controlled magick, not the brain. The brain was used in physical combat, not magickal. He looked down at his jewel. It was no longer a simple piece of glass. Now, it was one of the most coveted jewels in the entire country - and perhaps beyond. Yuugi brought up his other hand and levitated the object in the air between his palms. Out of light, he wove a chain for it, and watched entranced as his mage Gift turned it into a real, solid chain of silver. He smiled and put it around his neck.

"Congratulations, love." Atemu wrapped his arms around him and kissed him. "Welcome home."

_x x x_

"Wait, I don't understand, how is this getting done? And why now?"

Atemu led Yuugi by the hand down the palace's endless hallways. "It's a little complicated to hear at first, but trust me, it will all make sense. The High Priestess Analeah from the High Temple of Tranquility will be performing the ritual, and she is the one that will be entrusted with the life of our unborn child."

Yuugi's mind reeled. "_How?_"

"With the performing of the ritual, like I said."

Yuugi pursed his lips and growled. "I'm still not getting it. Start from the beginning again, and tell me how it's all going to work."

Atemu stopped once they reached a dias that was in a room Yuugi had never been in before. "Here's how it's going to happen. You and I will stand facing one another, our hands raised and our fingers intertwined, like this." Atemu put Yuugi at arm's length and brought his hands up to his, their palms touching. He then laced his fingers through Yuugi's. "Then Analeah will then say the words to start the ritual. You must remember, Yuugi, that we are powerless to do anything in this. Men are not given the right to have anything to do with birth outside of intimacy. The magick of the ritual will take a small part of your being, and a small part of mine, and combine it, then those energies will enter the body of Analeah. She will be the one to carry our child."

Yuugi scratched at his temples. "This is the strangest thing I have ever heard of. I mean, is this even a good idea? The idea just seems so odd to have someone outside of the relationship carry _our_ child, I-"

"I know Yuugi, it's a bit hard to accept at first. But Analeah is trustworthy. Tranquility Herself appointed the priestess. There is no other woman on this earth that would be allowed to do it."

"That's right," a feminine voice declared from the dias. Yuugi looked up and saw that it was the same woman that had danced so beautifully at the Winter Solstice every year. "I promise you, your Highness, that your child will be safe. I will allow no harm to come to it ever, even after its birth." The look in her yellow blue eyes was one of compassion. Her features were soft, and Yuugi could feel no ill will, not even a trace of it, in her aura. There was nothing but sweetness around her. "Your fears are understood, though. I cannot think of anyone that would not find this situation uncomfortable."

Yuugi nodded. "All right."

"Should we begin?" Atemu asked the priestess.

"Yes. Waiting will get nothing done. Allow us to begin." Analeah spread out a simple silk cloth, the color of creamy white, on a small table that was on the dias with her. There were a few tools there, but Yuugi could not see what they were. Oils, elixirs, and scrolls, most likely. "Come, both of you, stand directly in front of me at the feet of this platform, and hold hands, just as you were."

They did as they were told. Yuugi was also a little uncomfortable about how soon this had to be done. He'd barely been able to eat his dinner after coming home before Atemu whisked him away to this room. _We have very little time left,_ Atemu had said. _Our bonding ceremony will be at dawn tomorrow, and our coronation will happen once the moon has risen tomorrow night. It will be the ending festivities for the Solstice this year._

Why so quickly?

"Close your eyes, and concentrate on nothing. Only feel each other's hands, and their warmth. Think about your love for one another, and most importantly, don't move."

Yuugi looked up into Atemu's warm ruby eyes. The Prince smiled at him and winked. Yuugi grinned back, and dutifully closed his eyes.

"_Sey ah-neahll nah ley, eya na so leh! Cerinah al cahl un-neh, eahya so nah all eh!" _Analeah was not calling and chanting, but rather singing. It almost sounded like a sweet lullaby. Yuugi allowed her warm song to fill his ears, and focused on the strong, familiar hands holding lovingly onto his.

Warmth flooded his chest. His mental vision told him that it was probably glowing with a soft pink glow - the glow of a healer. He sucked in a deep breath and felt a gust of wind encase him. Still, he held on to Atemu's hands.

Thirty seconds later, it was all over. Yuugi opened his eyes when he felt the wind and the warmth of the energy leave him. Atemu's hair looked windswept, and Yuugi imagined that his looked the same as well. Atemu smiled at him.

Something shattered on the dias. Yuugi's head snapped over and saw the priestess was attempting to hold herself up, and had without meaning to knocked over a glass phial. Her skin was paler than usual, and her face was drawn. The two of them rushed up to her and helped to hold her up. "Forgive me," Analeah panted. "I...have never done that before. I was...unprepared...for the physical repercussions."

_She's exhausted_, Yuugi realized.

"Fear not," Atemu said. "You will be looked after until the child is born." Without warning, she fell asleep in their arms.

_x x x_

The doors to their bedroom rattled loudly as Yuugi's back was thrust up against it. Atemu was currently lip-locked with him, and Yuugi was struggling to remove the Prince's clothes. Of course, they had good reason for doing as such - they'd been celibate for nearly five months, and the pain of missing one another was greater than either wanted to admit.

Atemu managed to get the door open and get themselves inside. He kicked the door shut and, deciding to give Yuugi a hickey, walked him over to the bed. Yuugi ripped off the Prince's vest and began to undo his pants.

"**_Bang! Bang! Bang!"_**

Atemu growled loudly. Someone was banging on their doors. Whatever the problem was, it had better be good.

"_Your majesties!" _Some outside of their room cried. "_Please, come quick!_"

"Of all the wretched times...!" Yuugi growled.

Atemu straightened his clothes and mussed with his hair as he walked to the door. He opened it up with a grunt. "Yes?"

It was a young healer that was standing there, her face anxious. "The Royal Sacred, Astarte! She's in labor, my Lord!"

"**_What!_**" Yuugi jumped up and ran to the door. "Astarte? Oh my gawd! Atemu, we have to go!" Atemu ended up rushing just to keep up with Yuugi as he rushed out the door. Yuugi took the underground passageway to get to the stables. It was certainly quicker. People gave him odd looks as he ran down the halls, but he paid them no heed. :_Astarte, can you hear me? How are you fairing?_:

There was a grunt inside of his head. :_Curse every deity on this wretched earth! It _hurts!_" _

:_Don't worry, I'm coming! You won't be in pain for long!_: Sacreds were notorious for having painful births. Fatalities were minimal, if any, but they were incredibly painful. Yuugi would be able to help her and ease her discomfort.

Yuugi opened up the stable door so fast hay flew around him in miniature vortexes. Astarte's stall was open, and two healers were inside with her. Yuugi rushed up to her and fell to his knees. Her breathing was hard. :_Slow breaths, dear. Slow breaths._: Yuugi ran his hand down her stomach and felt where the foal was kicking and pushing. There was no doubt about it - that little horse in there wanted out. Yuugi's hand started to glow a soft pink-white. That glow acted as a painkiller, and would make the birthing process easier.

Atemu finally caught up and sat down next to Astarte's head. He rubbed her forehead softly. "How is she?" he asked.

"She'll be okay," Yuugi stated. "Her pain has gone down."

The sound of hay being shuffled out of the way, and the dull thud of hooves against the ground, mixed in with the sound of Astarte's breaths. Yuugi looked up and noticed that Senke was standing there, his eyes clearly worried.

:_Is everything all right between the two of you?_: Yuugi asked his horse.

Astarte strained her neck back. :_Stupid, bloody arrogant men! They always have to think - ah!_: Her ranting was cut off when she had another contraction.

Well, they'd had a disagreement about something, and apparently Senke hadn't admitted that he was wrong to her. Yuugi didn't have the faintest idea what they could have been arguing about, but getting her worked up wasn't going to help her any. :_Okay, easy, easy. Astarte, listen to me. You have to push to get the foal out. I promise, I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. It won't hurt hardly at all._:

:_Push, push, of course! Silly me! How could I have ever forgotten?_:

Yuugi sighed. :_Sarcasm doesn't help._:

Senke pushed his nose into her hair. :_Is she okay?_: He asked Yuugi.

Yuugi looked up at him and nodded. :_She's all right. Her pain is going to be minimal._:

It was nearly two hours later when the foal was finally born. As soon as the placenta was removed and the coat was dried, Yuugi and Atemu had been delighted to see that it was a female, and her coat was a shiny silver in color.

:_What are you going to name her?_: Yuugi asked his horse.

Astarte gave no inclination that she'd heard him as she lay on the hay. :_I have no idea. Any ideas?_:

Yuugi thought hard. The new one was silver, and he seemed to be having a fancy for mythological names, so... :_How does Artemis sound to you?_:

:_Where does that name come from? What does it mean?_:

:_An ancient Goddess from the world I came from. She was a huntress, and a moon Goddess. She swore that she would never give herself to any man._: Yuugi got the mental image of his horse smiling.

:_Yes, I like that name. Artemis. That is my daughter's name._:

"Artemis," Yuugi said out loud. Atemu looked at him curiously. "That's the new foal's name. Artemis."

The Prince nodded and smiled.


	25. Omen

_Dripping Wings_

Yuugi awoke with a sharp breath when the door to their bed chambers banged open. Atemu sat up just as quickly as he and looked to the intruder. It was Isis, and she was standing in a nightgown and robe that she hadn't bothered to tie. Her hair was a mess of tangles and static electricity, and her eyes were blood shot. "There's been a rape," was all she said. Formalities had been all but forgotten, for without even a bow she left.

"Oh Goddess," Atemu whispered. His voice sounded deflated.

It was only then that Yuugi realized there was a hum of noise outside of their balcony door, and when he looked over, he could see little spots of yellow light from torches. They extended far back into the city. "There are thousands out there," he said in disbelief. Atemu was already up. He pulled on some breaches and a shirt, then hastily affixed a robe-like cape that was a deep maroon in color. Yuugi was doing likewise. "Couldn't a rape case wait until the morning?" Yuugi asked. "Or noon? I mean, it's not like we're under attack from an enemy-"

"Yuugi," the Prince broke in. "Think." Atemu opened the door and motioned for the two of them to go. "Think really hard. Out of all of the books you've read, the history texts you've studied, out of _all_ of the court cases you've witnessed, how many of them were rape cases?"

Yuugi was shocked when a blank space of memory came up in his head. He couldn't think of anything. "None," he said in shock.

"Yes. None. Rape is, perhaps, the most horrific and deadliest crime one could ever hope to commit in this country. It just doesn't happen."

Yuugi pursed his lips together. "In a female centric society, I can see that. But still, it's so hard to control, how do you keep it out of society?"

Atemu did not have time to answer for as they rounded the bend in the hallway, a mass of people were suddenly all around them. Their faces were angry and stretched, and many of them were pumping torch holding fists in the air. "_Rape, rape, rape!" _They were crying. "_Justice! We cry for justice! Rape!_" Atemu pulled Yuugi along by his hand to the front of the area, where an entrance door to the palace was located. There was a sea of people that bled out into the darkness beyond. "**Show me the accused!**" Atemu boomed loudly over the roar of the crowd.

Like waters parting, people shuffled aside. A small group of people were suddenly spit out of the crowd like vomit. Four Guardians were holding on to a man that had a hard time staying on his feet. Yuugi could smell alcohol, even over the smell of the burning torches. Beside that group, two more Guardians came into view, holding on to a girl who looked to be about sixteen years of age. Rivulets of blood dripped down her temple and there was a gash in her lip. Yuugi cringed when he could see stains of dark red blood running down her bare legs, and her torn skirt was stained in red. She was crying.

It had been a rather violent one.

"_Justice!" _The crowd roared again. Isis pushed her way up and stood before the accused man. She gestured her hands in a complicated pattern and created a truth spell over him. She looked at Atemu, letting him know that he could ask questions.

"Did you rape this woman?" Atemu asked.

The man sobbed. "I...I didn't mean to, I-...really, I'm sorry! I've been drinking and...Please! I have a family! I have children! I didn't mean to-!"

The truth spell hadn't even been needed. The man lacked the ability to lie, it seemed, in his drunken state.

Atemu sighed and dropped his head to the side. "You know the law," he said. Someone Yuugi recognized from the High Council walked up with a sword and scabbard in hand. It was a bright red trimmed with bronzed gold. Atemu drew the sword from the scabbard and slowly walked back to the accused, who was still weeping as he was pushed to his knees by the Guardians.

"Please, your Highness! I beg for mercy!" He sobbed. "I didn't mean it! What of my family!"

"You should have thought of that before your first sip of alcohol tonight," Atemu replied. "In accordance with the laws of Sekesha, any man found guilty of raping a woman of his own volition will suffer the sentence of swift and expedient death. May the Goddesses have mercy upon your soul." Atemu raised the sword, and the Guardians backed up. Yuugi closed his eyes, but could not block the sound of the sword slicing through the air and cutting through skin, flesh, and bones. There was a soft thud as the body hit the floor. Yuugi's thoughts were swept away with the thunderously loud cry that erupted from the crowd. Like the water they mimicked, the sound rolled like a wave throughout the entire city, one row of people at a time. _A rape at the dawn of our Bonding Day. Such an awful omen as any could occur..._

It was no wonder rape didn't happen in Sekesha. If death was the sentence, and in such a bloodthirsty manner as the riotous crowd that brought him, no man would ever dare such a crime. And, it seemed, this was a law that not even Atemu could break, bend, or rewrite.

Atemu cleaned the sword and re-sheathed it, and handed it back to the Council man without a second look. "Come," Atemu whispered when he grabbed Yuugi's hand. "Let's go get ready for the day." Yuugi nodded. He wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep if he tried.

As Yuugi bathed and dressed in the glow of the early morning sun, a shadow hung over his head. Atemu did not believe in coincidences, and made his unhappiness at the pre-dawn's events well known as he readied for the day. His actions, sadly, made Yuugi all the more unsettled. Just as Yuugi was finished drying his hair with his towel in the bathing room, Atemu came him and beckoned him back into the bedroom. "I am going to have to leave you for now, love. Aids will come in and help you dress. Sekeshan standards for Bonding Ceremony dress are ridiculously picky and meticulous, and I will see you in the Hall of Celebrations later this morning."

Yuugi hugged the Prince tightly. "I love you."

Atemu kissed him deeply. "And I you. I shall see you soon." The Prince caressed Yuugi's cheek delicately before finally taking his leave.

Yuugi took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Even as the handmaidens of the palace came in and began to fuss about his attire, Yuugi still was unable to get the unease out of his system.

_xxx_

The Hall of Celebrations was grand. Yuugi had only been in the room once a year for the Winter Solstice celebrations, and hadn't given it much credence at the time. It was hard to see just how large the room was with so many people in it. This time, however, a large isle was cleared for him and the Prince, and draperies that hung from the ceiling seemed to stretch on for eternity. Vases the size mountain boulders were everywhere, filled with every kind of flower Yuugi could imagine. The vegetation of the Sekeshan landscape was, at times, radically different from Japan, and yet again at times very much the same. The biggest difference came in blossom variety, and apparently the florist had made sure to awe and bedazzle as many people as possible. Yuugi noted a few star flowers, which were believed by many to be extinct. The flower was so delicate it was hard to keep them alive and germinate them. Yuugi was standing behind a sheer vale that hung over the arched entryway of the hall. Yuugi would wait until Atemu was standing beside him. Then, they could proceed.

A soft music was playing somewhere out of his sight. It was a beautiful, melancholy tune that was being played on a harp. Yuugi had heard it a few times, but did not know the name, nor what the words to it were. Perhaps it didn't even have words. People began to file in. None of them sat, but rather, were standing off to the sides of the isle. Yuugi noticed as the crowd quieted, and Analeah, the High Priestess from the High Temple of Tranquility, and two other priestesses came up. Yuugi knew them as the High Priestesses from both the High Temple of Eternity and Divinity.

"Are you ready?"

Yuugi turned sharply in shock to see Atemu standing next to him. He looked glorious in his formal attire. Deep maroon and rich blacks colored his garments.

"You look amazing," Yuugi commented.

Atemu smiled at him. "I could say the same about you." He held out his hand, palm up. "Once again, are you ready?"

He nodded his head, words leaving him. "Yes," was all he said. He placed his hand on top of Atemu's.

Atemu smiled again. With one motion of his hand, people around them were alerted. The music picked up, and the vale in front of the opening was pulled away. The isle was open for them. Yuugi took a deep breath, and followed as Atemu started walking.

Everyone in the room was deathly silent, but their moods were bright. When they finally reached the end of the isle and were standing at the foot of the dias, all three of the high priestesses were smiling.

"Welcome, Prince Atemu of Sekesha, and Yuugi, honored Betrothed, to your Bonding Day. Today, your minds will become one, so that you may rule this country as one." Analeah smiled, but Yuugi could see that her face was still pale. She as tired, but had to be present for this ceremony.

"Do you promise, Atemu, to commit yourself to Yuugi, and honor him as the Three Sisters honor their children?" The golden haired priestess of the High Temple of Eternity asked.

"With all of my heart, I promise, and vow, with all of my power, to uphold that promise."

"And do you, Yuugi, promise to commit yourself to Atemu, and honor him as the Three Sisters honor their children?"

Yuugi swallowed. "With all of my heart, I promise, and vow, with all of my power, to uphold that promise."

The three women smiled.

"Then together," they all three spoke in unison, "we shall bind you together with the powers of the Goddesses. You will be one, and speak as one, as they speak as one. You will be committed to each other, and bound to each other. Love each other as though your life depended on it, for it shall." Together, they moved their hands in a complicated pattern. In a split second, Yuugi and Atemu were encased in a whirlwind of light and color and air. Yuugi felt a stab in each of his temples. His head began to ache, and his eyes clouded with white, but as quickly as it began, the pain ebbed away, and his vision cleared.

_:Yuugi, can you hear me?_:

Yuugi smiled broadly. :_Yes, love. Loud and clear._:

"Speak your heart!" The priestesses called out.

Atemu pulled Yuugi, and they turned around and faced the room. They held their clasped hands high. _:Whatever comes, we will overcome through together,_: Yuugi said mentally.

Atemu did not look at him, but he nodded. Yuugi did not see the slightly sadder expression on his face. "Whatever comes, we will overcome through together!" They said together.

The room cheered.

_xxxxxxxx_

I know it is depressingly short, but because of the delay in postings, I wanted to get this up quickly. The coronation ceremony will be next, and then...

War...


	26. Revelations

_Dripping Wings_

The evening moon was high over the city. It was a cloudless night, and there were no evening birds singing. There wasn't even a breeze.

Yuugi couldn't sleep. The balcony door was open, but it felt as though no air was making its way in. Although it wasn't hot, it was stuffy, and he felt he couldn't lie in that bed a moment longer without going crazy.

Slowly, quietly, he pushed the blanket back and sat up. Atemu was asleep and didn't even stir as Yuugi got up and pushed his feet to the floor.

It was the evening after their Bonding Day. He should have been exhausted, and he should have been fast asleep, but there was such a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach and he simply couldn't lay still.

_I need air_, he thought to himself. He grabbed an overcoat from the end of the bed, slipped on a pair of shoes, and walked over to the balcony. Mahaado was always at their chamber doors standing guard. Yuugi couldn't leave his room without someone else in the palace knowing he'd left. He was grateful for the guard's constant vigilance, but it was one of those nights when he was missing his independence. Instead, he walked over to the open balcony doors and released his wings. Perhaps a walk around the palace grounds was all he needed. Something to take his mind off of the terrible foreboding he kept feeling whenever he closed his eyes.

Why should he be feeling this way? He was already aware of all of the troubles to come, wasn't he? He knew that Questchal was about to attack, he knew he and Atemu would have to fight again, and he knew of the perils ahead. Velinah herself had told him as much.

Velinah. And Helios for that matter, too. Yuugi couldn't figure either of them out lately. The both of them had been rather quiet, and would often spare him calm, said looking glances in his direction. They did not speak to him much since he returned, but they were always affectionate. It was like they were a parent waiting for their child with cancer to finally feel the pain of it.

Perhaps he should speak with Astarte about it.

He hoisted himself up to the railing of the balcony. It was a long and dangerous drop. He was grateful he could fly tonight. He flapped his wings once, powerfully but silently, and felt himself lift, then start to drop. A heartbeat later he was on the ground and padding silently across the grass of the palace grounds.

The stables were quiet when he finally made his way to the entrance. Small lamps were lit and hung around the building, offering a plethora of night lights for the inhabitants. Yuugi pushed open one of the large doors, grateful when it did not creek or groan as he pushed, and slipped inside. Thankfully, the Sacreds sleeping inside recognized him instantly, and did not bother to stir or raise alarm as he made his way down the large, straw covered aisle.

Many of the stalls were dark, most likely by the choice of the horse inside. When Yuugi reached Astarte's stall, her doors were propped open, and a small oil lamp was hanging above her doorway. She was laying down to sleep tonight, and her small newborn was resting contentedly next to her. Yuugi marveled at how the young foal's coat shimmered a bright silver in the soft lamp light. She was going to be a marvelous creature.

Yuugi pulled his overcoat tight around himself as he sat down next to Astarte's sleeping head. She lifted it quickly when the noise he made reached her ears. He could hear her mental voice, riddled with sleep confusion, as she focused her vision.

_:Oh, Yuugi.:_ She looked at him with one of her big green eyes._ :You're awake. What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?: _

Yuugi smiled at the concern in her voice. :_I'm sorry to wake you. I couldn't sleep.: _

She looked at him imploringly. :_What troubles you? After the day you've had, you should be blissfully asleep next to your new bonded.:_

_:And new co-consort,:_ Yuugi replied. He still could not grasp at the fact he had been coronated that very evening. He hung his head as he attempted to gather his thoughts. :_Something wrong is in the air,_ he said at last. _I can feel it, with my very bones, but every ounce of logic in my brain says I'm overreacting.:_

_:Never doubt your instincts,:_ Astarte replied. _:I promise they will never fail you.:_

Yuugi let out a breath of frustration. "Nothing makes much sense right now," he whispered out loud. "Velinah and Helios have said very little to me since my return. Granted, I know that I have been very busy these past couple of days, but Helios wasn't even asleep in our room when Atemu and I went to sleep tonight. He hasn't slept away from us since his birth."

Astarte lowered her head minutely. _:It...surprises me they would act as distant as they are, knowing what they know.:_

Yuugi gave her a funny look. Knowing what they know? What would that be? Was there something he was being left out of?

_..._More secrets? Yuugi felt himself get frustrated.

Speaking of frustrations..._:Astarte, I noticed that you are still angry at Senke. What did he do? Why will you not so much as speak to him recently? He's still the father or your child, after all.:_

Astarte let out what sounded like a pained whinny. _:Oh, Yuugi...I didn't want to have to be the one to tell you this. It should have been Atemu...:_

Yuugi felt his heart squeeze in his chest. So, this was it. The secret he had been sure Atemu would not reveal to him all those months ago when they had been on their way to Elendiah.

Astarte pressed on with her reveal, interrupting Yuugi's thoughts. _:No matter how hard I tried, I could not convince Senke into persuading the Prince to tell you himself. Senke actually agreed with Atemu's decision to not tell you. He said he understood the pain and risk involved, and could not bring himself to fight against the Prince's request of silence from us.:_ She paused and shook her head. _:But you have a right to know. Whether it makes things harder on you or not, you have a right to know.:_ She pushed her head into Yuugi's chest, where he absentmindedly stroked the hair of her mane that was falling in her eyes. _:Do you remember the Prophecy, Yuugi? Back when you learned about it at Northern Reach?:_

"How could I forget?"

_:Indeed. Atemu, along with most everyone else, believe that you did not grasp the full extent of the sacrifices that will be required of you to fulfill the prophecy. Atemu even knows when these events will transpire, and a good idea of how it will happen. You see, the night you returned from Northern Reach, Atemu stormed the Hall of Remembrance and demanded the Goddesses explain themselves, and why they would have the Prophecy be fulfilled at this current time in history. Yuugi...you will have to die in order to kill the Wicked One. Your death will mark the end of the war. Even Atemu knows this...you only have a couple more months left to live.:_

Oh...Yuugi felt his face contort on its own, an attempt to hold back the tears that suddenly sprang to the surface. "So soon?" he asked weakly. His left hand found his face, and he started to weep. "Why so soon?" he whispered again. "I-I knew I'd have to give up everything eventually. It only made sense the way things have been going, and with what the Prophecy said. But so soon?" He held onto her head tightly as he poured his heart out. _:Why me? Why was I chosen to live this life?:_

Astarte said nothing as Yuugi continued to wet her mane. She rubbed her nose against his chest softly. _:You will not go through this alone. You have so many that will be with you till the very end.:_

It still wasn't fair. To have to die so soon for everyone else. He was going to save a world he would no longer have any part of...

_But..._

His brain did not stop there.

It would be safe for his child. It would be safe for Artemis. It would be safe for Atemu.

His future was grim. But if it made things better for his family, and the ones he loved...

By the goddesses, he _would_ make it right for his family. His _family._ The one thing he'd never had and always wanted. Now that he had it, he was going to lose it, but he would leave them with a better world than what they currently lived in now. He believed he could live out his remaining time with that knowledge wedged safely in his heart. He relayed his thoughts to Astarte, who agreed.

_:It will be safer. Your descendants will never have to worry about the tyranny of the Wicked One and Questchal ever again.:_

A painful smile split Yuugi's face. "I believe I understand why Atemu didn't want to tell me. Have you seen what he does when I cry? It's like someone just ripped his heart and lungs out of his chest. I'm sure he would rather I live in ignorant bliss for my remaining time than watch me go through this."

Astarte gave a horse chuckle. _:Your King has such a soft heart when it concerns you._:

Yuugi sat back against the stall wall, this new revelation of his future swirling around in his head. "I sure played right into destiny's hands, didn't I?" He chuckled ruefully. "I've been given everything, so I can give up everything. From Atemu to my companions." He looked into Astarte's olive green eyes wistfully. "What do you suppose would have happened to me, should things have been different? If I hadn't been an Assai after coming here. No golden dragon to follow me. I never would have met Velinah, and you-"

_:-I'm different,: _Astarte cut him off. Her green eyes looked at him without waver. _:Whether you would have been Assai or not, I'm different. I still would have been with you. I still would have found you and followed you until the end. My destiny is to follow you until your darkest hour. I will die with you, Yuugi.: _

The conviction in her voice rang loudly inside of his mind. Yuugi felt a warmth spread within him with these words. "Oh, Astarte.." he felt like crying again. Instead, he launched his arms around her neck and held tight. "I don't deserve you."

_:Of course you do. Don't be silly,:_ she chided.

He looked down at the silver foal that was still sound asleep next to her mother. :_What will become of Artemis? If you're killed while we're at war...:_

_:She will be all right,:_ Astarte assured him. She touched her nose to Artemis's side affectionately. _:Senke will still be here. The other Sacreds also know of what will come, and will help to raise her.:_ She paused a moment. _:She may not be able to talk yet, but she knows. She chose to be born to this life, with this destiny laid out before her. That's the way things are with the Sacreds. I myself knew of my fate before I was even born. I knew I'd be here with you, fighting till my last breath on the battle field. She's destined for your unborn daughter, did you know? The two of them...they will do great things.:_

Yuugi processed this new bit of information. It was always interesting to hear the insight the Sacreds so rarely revealed. "I wish I could be here to see it."

Astarte sighed in weariness. _:You'll know. Trust me. I know what it's like on the other side. You'll see her smiling face every day, whether your hear to touch it or not.: _

Yuugi did not reply. He simply sat there, a small part of him so grateful that he was not going into this darkness of the future alone. "No wonder I've got such a bad feeling about tomorrow. My intuition was correct."

_:It always has been, Yuugi. Now, as much as I love your company, you really should get back to sleep. My instincts are telling me that you're going to have a long day tomorrow.: _

Yuugi nodded his consent. _:You're right. I can feel it too. Get some rest yourself. I'll try to see you tomorrow.: _

Astarte moved her head back down to once again rest against Artemis's sleeping form. Yuugi stood, albeit a little shakily, and dusted off his overcoat. He reached up and dimmed the light from the oil lamp before he silently made his way back out of the stables.

Yuugi's heart felt heavy as he made his way back across the palace grounds. Not a single soul could be seen as he walked the way back to his side of the palace. The night was still deathly silent, but at least now he felt he knew why.

Extending his wings for the final time that night, he flapped them and lifted himself to the railing of his balcony.

Atemu was still sound asleep as Yuugi made his way back to the bed. He hadn't even rolled over in his sleep. As Yuugi looked at him, all he could think about was how much he was going to miss him.

"Atemu," he whispered urgently as he pressed himself up against the King's back.

His lover rolled over sluggishly. "Hmm...?"

Yuugi ran his hands up and down Atemu's toned arms. "Atemu," he pressed again.

Dark red eyes opened up and looked at Yuugi questioningly. "Yuugi?"

He cupped Atemu's face with his hand, and moved their faces closer. "Make love to me."

The King complied with Yuugi's request, even if he was still too tired to dwell on question of why Yuugi would wake in the middle of the night with such an urgent need.

***


	27. Gold

_Dripping Wings_

When Yuugi awoke that morning to the sound of his chamber doors bursting open loudly, a panicked voice on the other side, he couldn't say he was surprised.

Isis was clutching her silk robe closed, as she had hastily thrown it over her night gown. "You're Majesties, El-Ekehrah is under attack. Questchal has declared war."

Atemu sat up with such a start Yuugi nearly fell off the bed. "We'll be right there," he barked. Isis nodded to his response and closed the door again.

Yuugi noticed how Atemu looked very pale as he crawled out of their bed and started to dress. Yuugi could only guess at the thoughts that were currently running through his head. _This is the beginning of the end. He must be terrified._ He quickly pulled on his royal garbs. The silvery-blue and royal purple of his clothes gleamed in the morning sunlight that streamed in from the balcony doorway. It seemed those two colors had come to be designated as his, while Atemu always wore black, dark red, and deep purples. "Atemu," he asked as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Whatever it is, Yuugi. It'll probably have to wait. We have to be in the conference hall ten minutes ago."

"_Atemu,_" Yuugi stressed. "Look at me."

The Prince-turned-King looked at his bonded partner in mild concern. The brow above his deep ruby-red eyes knitted in worry. "What is it?"

Yuugi took a deep breath. He hoped he could word this delicately enough. "Atemu...I know what will happen once we truly engage Questchal in battle. I know...that the Goddesses have death planned for me. I know that I will die within the month."

The look Atemu gave him could have made one believe that Yuugi had just told him he didn't love him anymore.

Through their link, Yuugi allowed every ounce of love and devotion he could conjure up and flooded Atemu's consciousness. Atemu reeled in the after affects and nearly lost his footing. For a moment, he almost lost his vision in the onslaught of emotion, too. When he could focus again, Yuugi had his arms wrapped around him in a hug. "I'm not afraid, my love. I am at peace with what is to come."

"Yuugi," Atemu began. "I can't bear the thought of life without you. How can you...how is it you don't seem affected?" His unvoiced question of '_Don't you care?' _flitted through their link.

"Oh, Atemu," Yuugi's grief from the night before surfaced in his mind. His lover felt the heart-wrenching pain Yuugi was still trying to keep at bay. "Of course I care. That's why..." he sniffed as a tear fell down his face. "That's why I can do this." Atemu suddenly couldn't tell the difference between his grief and that of Yuugi's. "You're going to be safe. Safe, Atemu! I can save all of you! Everyone I care about! Our daughter will never have to go to war with Questchal. Isn't that worth something?" He started to sob.

"I love you," was his response. "More than anything, I love you above all else." He buried his head in Yuugi's soft hair. "I don't know where you find all of this courage."

Yuugi gave a half-hearted laugh. "Don't be silly, Atemu. I get my courage from you. I couldn't do this without you."

The King would have responded, but there was a sudden noise of people yelling outside in the hall. The two rulers were brought back to the reality at hand.

Sekesha was at war, after a over a hundred years of peace.

With only half a second of thought between the two, all of the unsaid words and emotions and promises of support and more conversation to come was expressed. They smiled at each other as Atemu dried Yuugi's tears, and they left their bedroom.

The palace was in an uproar. Scribes were running around like madmen. Reports from the front lines kept pouring in from the communication orbs Guardians and mage's used to speak to each other across the country.

Isis, Jono, Mai, and the rest of the Divine Council was already in the largest conference hall by the time Yuugi and Atemu got there. All of the officials stood up as soon as the Kings entered, and they bowed deeply. "Your Majesties, the reports from El-Ekehrah are not good," Councilman Seth explained. "An army five thousand strong is marching on El-Ekehrah's first line of defenses. Border outposts are being attacked multiple times a day, and we've currently lost eight of the twelve out-posts we had."

"What about Pelliah's Pass?" Atemu inquired.

Yuugi remembered, vaguely, about Pelliah's Pass. As Questchal was nestled in the foot-hills of terribly rugged mountains and was littered with cliffs and deep river gorges, the Pass was one of the few safe ways through and around Questchal. It was one of the only ways for a large amount of people to come around to the other side of the country, as it was really quite small compared to Sekesha, being only a three day's ride across, if it weren't for the terrible terrain.

"Blocked," Seth stated. "Trolls, Giants, and Ogres are standing on constant guard. There's no way an army would be able to break through without losing half of it's soldiers, if they were lucky."

Yuugi sent his thoughts to Atemu, who reluctantly agreed. "Atemu and I should go to El-Ekehrah," Yuugi spoke. "We'll be much more able to assess the situation there, and ready to fight ourselves."

Jono, for the first time, looked a little worried. "Is it really necessary, my Lord, for you both to fight? We have plenty of good soldiers ready to fight-"

"I am the strongest mage Sekesha has ever seen," Yuugi cut in. "All of you know it." There was no denying the conviction in his voice. "I wouldn't even have to breathe to wipe out half of the army lined up in front of our desert capital at this very moment. It is absolutely crucial that I get to El-Ekehrah as fast as possible. Jono, assemble your battalion. Mai, assemble half of yours. Atemu and I will leave with those assembled soldiers through one of my portals at sunset today. Mai, I want you to stay here with your remaining troops. I don't want to leave the Divine City absolutely defenseless."

Atemu's lips thinned, but he did not refute what Yuugi said. "Agreed. Yuugi and I, with the rest of the Council, will go over the maps and information that's been gathered so far. There's no time to waste."

And with that, Mai and Jono left the hall with grim but determined faces. After all, it was the day they'd all really been waiting for, and dreading, to come. It was only a matter of time now. "I'm going to miss him," Mai said to Jono.

The cavalry captain agreed. "Atemu will never be the same again without him. I don't know if I'm ready for that world, yet."

_xxx_

The Sacreds were restless as the Kings and their army made their way through Yuugi's portal. Perhaps, the only Sacred that was calm and unflinching in the evening wind was Astarte. Her sober eyes and smooth movements gave Yuugi a small bit of calm as they walked towards the storm of warfare before them.

When Yuugi and Atemu went through the portal, they left a silver city behind them, and entered a gold one instead.

It was sunset in El-Ekehrah. Most of the buildings were built out of yellow colored adobe bricks. In the fading sunlight, red and bronze and russet hues colored the walls and roofs of every structure. Temples, monolith structures, and the palace of the High Guardian in the center of the city were built out of a gold colored marble.

And everything was so tall. Yuugi knew the desert capital city was considered the domain of the Sun Goddess. It was easy to see why.

The noise in the city that night was almost deafening. Yuugi was barely able to hear Atemu's thoughts as they made their way through the streets up to the central palace. Soldiers of El-Ekehrah lined the streets in greeting for them. Citizens were piled up behind them, eager to catch a glimpse of Sekesha's royalty.

Yuugi was amazed at the kaleidescope of colors that was the fabric of this place. People wore everything from purples, blues, greens, and reds, to bright gold and shimmering bronze jewelry. Many of the buildings were not made with adobe ceilings. Instead, fabric and canvas awnings were pulled over them to help block out the sun. Many of the buildings had the awnings rolled back, now that the sun was setting, to allow the cool evening breeze to blow in. _I feel like I've been dropped into ancient Persia._

It would have felt like Persia, too, if it weren't for all of the Sekeshan imagery, iconography, and statues of Goddesses that clung to the walls of the temples and nooks of building and balconies of the central palace as protectively as they did to the buildings of the Divine City. _If I liked deserts, I could be home right now._

The palace of the High Guardian was barely half the size of the Eternal Palace, but it was still the largest building in El-Ekehrah. Yuugi knew that High Guardians acted like the arms of the ruler, and were selected each by hand to reside over the larger cities of Sekesha. Their powers were more like a governor, and major actions that had the potential to change the entire city were always directed to the Divine City. Yuugi did not know who the High Guardian of El-Ekehrah was, but he was about to meet them soon.

When they finally reached the palace, Yuugi felt the slightest hint of exhaustion begin to creep up behind his eyes. He and Atemu had been up since early that morning, and they hadn't taken even a small break all day. It was well into the evening by the time they reached the palace gates, and all he wanted to do was sleep, and allow his weary, aching muscles a chance to relax.

A man with hair the color of corn silk walked through the gates as they were opened up by palace guards. He wore garments of white and yellow linen, and he wore a sash the color of gold around his torso. Yuugi noticed the man had an affinity for gold jewelry, as he wore a lot of it. His skin was very tan from the desert sun, and lavender colored eyes greeted them with determination and a hint of concern.

"Your Highnesses, it is my honor to welcome you to El-Ekehrah. Your presence here has been highly anticipated." He bowed low during his greeting.

"Thank you, High Guardian Marik," Atemu replied. "I must admit, it's been quite a while since I've seen you."

Marik looked up at Atemu and smiled. "Likewise, my King. Please, come inside. The attendants will take care of your Sacreds, and my Guardians here will help get the troops settled. We have much to discuss."

Yuugi dismounted and followed Atemu as they made their way up to the palace. He looked up into the sky full of fading sunlight, and saw about six dragons, all of varying shades, fly overhead. Scouts, or soldiers returning from the front lines? Yuugi didn't know for sure. He knew, though, that he was about to find out.

The palace of the High Guardian of El-Ekehrah was like a small, inverted version of the Eternal Palace. It, too, was filled with rows and rows of hallways, ante-chambers, colonnades, conference rooms, and resting chambers.

The colonnades were brightly painted with designs of what looked like plant life, animals, and vines. Yuugi was reminded of ancient Egyptian imagery from his own world. The palace, unlike the smaller buildings that littered the streets of the city, had its own ceiling which towered high above his head. The ceiling must have been four or five stories tall. Yuugi marveled at the architecture.

After what felt like hours, they finally made it into a large conference hall. There were maps and scrolls everywhere. It looked like a war room. Marik made his way to the table and looked down at it, his brow furrowed with thought. He leaned his arms on the table and looked up at the Kings. His expression was grim. "It's not looking good."

Yuugi did not like the way he started the conversations for the evening.

"Tell me," Atemu said.

Marik rubbed his face with one of his calloused hands. "Questchal has us outnumbered three to one, even with the new troops that you've brought. They've been building this army up for much longer than any of us realized. They must have recruited every man and young boy capable of holding a weapon. They've swarmed and overwhelmed our outposts. There's only a couple left that are still holding out. Once they've been lost, the magick that has been used to _keep_ our border secure will fall, and the army of Questchal will be able to start it's march on the city walls itself."

Yuugi looked at the largest map that was spread out on the table in from of him. "It would make sense, then, that we attempt to reclaim one of the outposts. As many Guardians as we can spare. I will lead them myself. Clearly, the more outposts we have, the harder time Questchal will have in crossing the border."

Marik looked at Yuugi like he was mad. "That would be suicide, my lord. None of us are strong enough to overthrow the numbers they currently have stationed at the captured out-posts. I cannot send my men and women willingly to death."

Yuugi frowned. "I alone would be enough. I only need the army for backup."

His eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

"It is true," Atemu assured his High Guardian. "Yuugi is our greatest weapon against Questchal."

Marik stood up straight again. "So it's true then, what the rumors have said. Word spread like a plaque across Sekesha. A real Assai? My Lord, are you serious?" The Guardian's lavender eyes shifted to Yuugi. If Yuugi was reading the expression correctly, it looked half hopeful, half disbelieving.

He sighed. "There's no use it trying to hide it anymore. Soon, everyone will see for themselves anyway. I cannot hide it whilst in battle for long." Yuugi reached up and unclipped the cape from around his shoulders. Once the blue material was free and had fallen to the floor, Yuugi allowed his wings to be free of the in-between dimension. He flapped them a little for good measure and allowed himself the small indulgence of feeling the air move through his feathers.

One of his silvery feathers landed softly on the table, right next to a tiny black statue of a Questchal figurine.

"Holy Goddesses," Marik breathed. He fell to his knees in a deep bow. "Forgive my ignorance." He clutched a fist to his chest, which was clinging desperately to the front of his clothing. "I will follow you to the end, my King."

Yuugi's face softened. This was the part of royalty he didn't like. "Stand up, Marik. You needn't bow so low to me."

He also didn't understand why such modesty made his subjects all the more loyal.

Marik did stand, though he was not quite so steady on his legs this time. "We will follow your orders, your Highness, wherever they lead us. However, there is still one thing you should know."

When he turned around and started to walk towards one of the exists of the room, Yuugi and Atemu shared a look as they followed him.

"You both would know that our fighters are unmatched. We _are_ the stronger country. Questchal has been biding its time for a reason beyond its usual madness. They have a weapon that we have not seen before."

"What is it," Yuugi asked. Part of him was curious, part of him was afraid of what it would be.

Marik shrugged a little. "Truthfully, we don't really know. The healers are calling it 'God-Magick.' They've never really seen anything like it on this plane before. The weapons the Questchal army is using seems to be infected with some kind of poison the healers aren't able to remove from the system. It's affects are terrible. It incapacitates the victim almost instantly. The healer's say its traces are divine in nature, but the element of divinity seems so tainted its almost an inky blackness that consumes the victim whole."

By the time Marik had finished his explanation, they'd reached the end of yet another hall and were at the entrance of another room. Marik opened up and the door and let them in. Inside, there were two healers that were sitting over the form of a man that was laid out on the bed. The man was writhing in a lot of pain, and made pitiful moaning sounds as he struggled against invisible restraints. Marik's face was pained when he looked back at Yuugi and Atemu. "This is the Captain of the El-Ekehrah Dragonforces, Tristan. He's been like this since last night, when the first attack came."


	28. Not Quite Forgotten

_Dripping Wings_

Yuugi felt his heart clench in his chest.

It was just like when he mistook Jono for his old roommate, Jou. Surely, it was Honda Hiroto that was writhing on that small medical bed, and not Tristan, leader of the El-Ekehrah Dragonforces. That wasn't one of his loyal captains that was about to die, it was the rough but friendly man that had saved his hide and _died_ for it back in Domino!

If only Jou hadn't owed people so much money. He had begged, borrowed, and stolen so much to try to pay for more than just his alcohol problem, but his sister's operation as well. Shizuka would have gone blind if she didn't get the operation done at that point in time. Her eyes would have become damaged beyond repair. He got the wrong people angry at him. Honda, stupid, friendly Honda, was just as much of a street punk as Yuugi and Jou were, but he was usually smarter about who he pissed off.

He saved Yuugi one day when some of the bill collectors came and tried to leave a message for Jou carved in Yuugi's back. Honda was only the first of Jou's friends to die as a warning.

Yuugi hadn't expected any more of those memories to pop up, especially in such an ugly circumstance as they were right then.

_I couldn't help you, Honda, but perhaps I can help you here, as Tristan, instead. Now that I can help, I'm going to do everything I can for you. I owe it to you._

He shook his head roughly. He could _not _freeze up with emotion at a time like this.

There was a terrible aura that was surrounding the injured man. It made even Yuugi feel nauseated while being near it. Still, though, if there was anyone that could solve this, it was him. He swallowed down the bile that was starting to rise in his throat and steeled himself against his current task.

Tristan looked like he would have been considered a handsome man, if it weren't for the fact that his face was flush and covered with sweat, and that his expression was so strained he couldn't even open his eyes. He wasn't aware of anything going on around him. Not even the physical stimulus of Yuugi pushing his hand against the man's forehead caused a reaction.

His temperature was high. There was obviously some foreign entity that his body was trying to get rid of. When Yuugi checked his pulse, he realized this was going to call for measures far more drastic than the soothing pink energy of the standard healer and potions.

Yuugi summoned a ball of Cold Light into his hand. Unlike his shadows and normal light gifts, which seemed to inhabit his whole body, the Cold Light came directly from the center of his chest, right around his heart. It was also always so eager to jump into use. A cool draft moved from around his chest, down his arm, and pooled in his hand.

Yuugi pushed the energy into the heart of the man on the bed and began to manipulate it. He stretched it to fill the rest of Tristan's body and weaved it into a stronger structure of magickal lines. This action would keep his body stable, and numb to pain, which would allow Yuugi enough time to work to pull out the vile energy that was currently poisoning him.

When Yuugi began his normal sweeps of his healing gift, he noticed why this issue was indeed so horrible.

Calling it 'God-Magick' wasn't too far off from the truth. It _did_ have divine energy running through it. In fact, it wasn't even traces, it was the _whole thing_. How did they get the vile energy of their god into their weapons? This was potent power that very few mages in history would be able to counter-act.

He began the extraction process. It was slow, so _painfully_ slow as he tried to pull the poison away thread by tiny little thread.

Atemu became worried when Yuugi, who was usually so quiet and calm as he worked, cried out in unmistakable panic. "What's wrong?" he questioned urgently.

Yuugi practically snarled as he struggled. "The poison is _fighting _me!" A bright light filled the room as he pushed yet more energy into his task.

The occupants of the room had to shield their eyes from the onslaught of light.

By the end of it, Yuugi was practically yelling with the force of his work.

When silence finally descended, it was almost eerie. The only noise that was heard was the sound of Yuugi's labored breaths as he sat on the floor and attempted to regain his composure. His face was pale, and his eyes were barely half way open.

Atemu made his way over to him and helped him up. "What happened? Will Tristan be all right? Are you all right?"

Yuugi clutched to Atemu as he felt his warmth. That healing had seemed to suck away every last ounce of heat in his body. He looked over at the bed to double check his work, glad when he saw Tristan was silent, breathing evenly, and looked peacefully asleep. The sweat that was still on his forehead was starting to disappear. "The weapons have been charmed with Enochnral's magick. The poison has a primitive sort of intelligence all of its own, and it fights back against a healer when they try to remove it."

Marik felt like a piece of iron had been dropped in his stomach. How did any of them stand a chance against weapons like that? "How did you remove it, then?" he asked.

Yuugi gave Marik a half grin. "Because I am stronger than the magick of the poison. Unfortunately for everyone else, they aren't, and that leaves the whole army vulnerable. One hit with this stuff, even something as small as a paper-cut, would rend a warrior useless." He sighed into Atemu's arms. "But I believe I know a way to help counter some of these affects."

Everyone in the room felt their spirits raise a bit. "How?" Atemu asked.

"They've got one god. We've got thirteen. I think we can invoke some divine energy of our own to protect our armor and sharpen our weapons. Atemu, I need every Priestess in the city, and any mage or Guardian that can summon a goddess with me as soon as possible. We've got a lot of equipment to charm."

_xxx_

Atemu brushed away some of the sweat that coated his forehead. He leaned further over Yuugi as the smaller man slept and brushed away a lock of hair. The bed they were using was in the largest suite of the palace. It was always reserved for the current monarch, whether they ever used it or not. It was also a subtle reminder to the High Guardian of the city that they were not truly the one in charge; Sekesha's King or Queen would always have more rank, power, and status, even if they were thousands of miles away.

Yuugi had passed out not a couple of hours before sunrise. He'd spent the entire evening showing all of the priestesses and mage gifted in El-Ekehrah that could do it how to properly charm the weapons and armor of the army. The charmed equipment would help protect their army against the poisonous magick of Enochnral. Yuugi could do nothing to protect everyone from a sword cutting off a limb or running through someone's body, but he could divert the the negative effects of the magick, so long as the charmed armor and weapons were used.

Atemu was saddened by the fact that Yuugi had worked until he passed out. Literally. Atemu had to catch him as he fell to the ground after the last charm.

So far, Tristan was the only person to survive the God-Magick. It appeared that Yuugi was, indeed, the only person strong enough to remove the effects and not die in the process. All of the others that had been affected by the charmed Questchal weapons died on the battlefield. Even if Yuugi had tried, he wouldn't have been able to reach them in time.

Atemu allowed himself to lay down next to his Bonded. They had a battle to prepare for, if they wanted to take back one of the out-posts, but they weren't going to be able to command anything, much less their troops, if they didn't get some sleep. _I just hope we have enough time_.

Thankfully, wonderfully, Marik and Jono knew where he and Yuugi were. Jono was even there when Atemu caught Yuugi has he passed out. They would not be bothered until it was absolutely necessary to wake them. After all, Atemu had spent the entire time Yuugi was working planning out with Marik and Jono just how they were going to take back one of the out-posts. All that was left to do was gear up and head out.

He didn't know what to think about how hard Yuugi was already pushing himself. Clearly he was trying to live up to what the Goddesses wanted him to do. Atemu was afraid that Yuugi was going to kill himself early trying to live up to these expectations. No one knew just how long he had left to live, and how he was going to die, but Atemu had a feeling that it wasn't supposed to end quite so quickly.

He allowed his hand to hover over Yuugi's heart as his thoughts wandered. What would happen, if he were to run a dagger through Yuugi's heart, right then and there? Would the battle be over then? Would Enochnral die, and would Yuugi pass peacefully into the afterlife without going through the strife of war?

The treacherous thoughts caused his hand to shake and his blood to run cold in his veins.

All he wanted to do was run away with him, hide him from the world and everyone in it. If only he could protect him the way he really wanted to. If only they could avoid the consequences of running from it all. Who needed to rule a country, when they'd already found their soul mate? What more was there to life?

Atemu lowered his hand. _He'd never forgive me._ In fact, Atemu doubted he could forgive himself, when it came down to it, if he willingly let everyone die for the sake of Yuugi's life.

Sometimes, though...sometimes, when things seemed the hardest, he almost could.

Atemu forced himself to stop dwelling on such thoughts, and allowed himself to lay down next to his Bonded and fall to sleep himself. He needed it, after all, almost as much as Yuugi did.

He supposed, as things often go, that he shouldn't have been surprised at what happened. After all, it was war, and truly, anything was possible. However, as things tend to go, instead of the way they should, they went the way they shoudn't, and Atemu had to force his throbbing heart back down into his chest proper when the shocking news was delivered to him and Yuugi long before they were due to wake up.

It was Jono who told him of the news, followed by Marik, Tristan, and a healer he didn't recognize. "We have to move _now_," Jono urged. Marik was in the middle of belting on his sword and scabbard. "The last of the out-posts were attacked and sacked! Only one remains, and it is under heavy fire right now! Our borders are about to go down!"

He couldn't panic. It would solve nothing.

But Goddesses above, the border hadn't been down in over two thousand years! What was he supposed to do??

He got up and started to get his armor on. An attendant rushed into the room and began to help him. "Are the armies assembled? Dragons harnessed, Sacreds ready, cavalry, infantry?"

"Yes, Sire. We're waiting for you...and Yuugi."

_Yuugi_. Atemu looked over and noticed that Yuugi hadn't woken up yet. Even the panic of the conversation hadn't caused him to stir. That wasn't right. Yuugi was a naturally light sleeper. He _always_ woke up when there was someone else in the room. He walked to the other side of the bed and shook his shoulder. "Yuugi, wake up!"

Not even a twitch on his face!

"_Shit!_" He screeched. "He's still out of energy! He needs a healer; someone that can give him energy. Keystones, transfers, _anything!_ Now!"

Marik and the lower-class healer ran off to find someone else with enough ability to help him. Atemu wasn't a healer- not even close. He did not possess the ability to heal. His tutors had tried to teach him, but he had failed at even attempting to grasp the concept behind healing, much less the actual implementation of it. He was literally powerless to help Yuugi.

The person that came in was one that he should have recognized, but for the life of him he couldn't remember where. The healer had pure white hair, like most Sekeshans, and soft brown eyes. He wore a mint green robe with a silver slash- a very high class healer indeed. Silver sashes were reserved only for the very best healers. Very few were ever given out. Atemu didn't think he'd seen one for perhaps eight years, they were so rare.

The healer looked at him and bowed swiftly, then hurriedly made his way over to Yuugi's side. "Many pardons, your Highness, but we don't have time for pleasantries."

Atemu was amazed to watch as he shoved a handful of energy into Yuugi's chest, just as Yuugi had done to Tristan when he was healing him. The King had only ever seen Yuugi heal in such a way before.

The white haired healer held his hand out for Atemu in demand. "Come. I'm going to use your Blood Bond to transfer some of your energy into Yuugi. He'll accept the energy much more easily. No chance of rejection. It's the only way he's going to wake up."

Atemu handed over his hand without responding vocally. How this man knew of the bond, and why he was so familiar with Yuugi's name was strange, but he wasn't going to question until he had time.

The transfer of energy didn't hurt at all. In fact, he only felt a little winded when it was over. The man was _really_ good at what he did.

Atemu could have almost forgotten about the war when Yuugi's eyes opened up and he spoke Atemu's name. Atemu pulled Yuugi into a sitting position and looked him in the eyes. _I'm asking too much of him, but I cannot simply sit here and not tell him what's happening. _"Darling, wake up. We need you. The last out-posts is under attack. Our borders are about to fall, we must go!"

Yuugi's eyes were still clouded with sleep, but he woke up quickly just the same. "So soon?" he found himself saying the same phrase again.

"Eat this, Yuugi." The healer grabbed one of Yuugi's hands and shoved into it an undefinable substance.

Yuugi looked at what was in his hand, then at the healer, and his wide purple eyes became wider. "Ryou?"

The man smiled. "Hi, Yuugi. Long time, no see."

Yuugi nearly laughed as he slung an arm around Ryou in a hug. "I can't believe it. I thought I wouldn't see you again! I'm....I'm glad you're here, though I wish you didn't have to be."

Ryou's smile became warmer. "I know, but there's no time right now. Eat that, you'll feel better, and go! I'll be at the front lines just after you. The border is about to fall."


	29. Precipice

_Dripping Wings_

Today, Anzu was a very unhappy woman.

Generally, she hated fighting of any kind. She hated killing even more. Yet, at the moment, she found herself stuck doing both, as the out-posts she was visiting was currently under attack. The fighting was causing her to get dirty, and her normally well-kept hair was matted, slick with splashes of blood, and cut at odd angles as every now and again and enemy sword would get too close, or her wind made blades got a little out of control.

Today, she felt like a dirty, angry, loathsome beast.

As yet another brown-clad soldier darted into her path with a wickedly glowing sword, she thrust another set of painfully sharp blades of wind into his side and lopped him cleanly in half. She growled as she spun in place and erected a whirlwind of a shield as a shower of arrows fell around her. She moved like a dancer, deadly in her aim. She'd always fancied herself as a dancer when she was younger, and truly, it was a befitting role for her. After all, the gift of air was something every dancer hoped to have.

It figured that she would end up on the front lines of battle after she'd traveled to one of the most goddess-forsaken regions of her country. Barrier, the largest, and currently last standing, out-post was now under direct attack of Questchal's army.

They'd been fighting for nearly half an hour already. It was almost frightening to look up and see the fort's walls being swarmed with brown colored men as they climbed their ladders and made their way in. It would have more frightening had she been able to dwell on it, but she was currently caught up in the moment of throwing herself over a comrade and thrusting away yet another enemy with her air gift.

They were in serious trouble. If backup didn't arrive soon from El-Ekehrah, they would all die.

A plume of black fire shot down from the sky and torched a group of five people in front of her dead. Anzu yelled in frustration as she summoned more wind around her. The black, smokeless fire was inching its way towards her, and she was doing her best to fend it off. How long could they hold out like this?

She didn't see the incoming at first, considering her focus was directed on her shields, but the noises of surprise from behind her was her first warning.

Anzu lost her breath for a moment when a piercing light flew overhead and directly into the firestorm in front of her. The power she felt coming in waves off of that light source caused her body to tremble, It caused the very air to vibrate.

The light source expanded with ravenous fury and consumed most of the Questchal men that were still making their way over the walls.

They had breathing room again!

When the light faded, Anzu first saw the white wings that emerged from the fading light source. Then she saw the King, in his shining royal battle regalia, as he shoved a shadow blade into an enemy.

Then the King turned around, and Anzu saw purple eyes narrowed in concentration. "Yuugi!" she burst out. Her heart fluttered with excitement, relief, and wonder. She never thought she'd see him again.

Yuugi looked in her direction, then his eyes grew wider. "...Anzu?" he asked. He fought his way over to her and smiled. "Anzu! I thought I wouldn't see you again! What on earth are you doing here, of all the places to be?" His face looked pained at the thought of her having to fight.

Anzu grinned at him. "Just doing my part, Yuugi. I... can't believe how much you've changed. Look at you!"

Yuugi smiled, then without warning shot a blast of magick out in the opposite direction. It's power was terrible. Anzu yelped as her body once again endured the vibrations it caused it the air.

A small enemy dragon was dead meters from Yuugi's feet. His senses were amazing, and his power was terrifying.

People on Sacreds rushed by with swords brandished as they headed to the attack. Anzu readied her sword again as the fort's gates crumbled inward.

"We'll talk later," Yuugi yelled at her, and made his was towards the gates without hesitation. A large white mare ran up beside him and he mounted without a thought. He looked _weightless_ as he vaulted up her back and created another sword out of shadow magick in his other hand.

As Anzu buried her sword in a man's heart, she realized that she probably didn't know Yuugi anymore, really. After all, the last time she'd seen him, he couldn't even summon his abilities. Now...

She yelled as she fought off a seemingly mad horse from trampling her. She couldn't think about what he was now. The implication were too terrifying to ponder over, especially at a moment like this.

Astarte dodged falling bricks as the walls kept crumbling around them. Yuugi did his best the shield everyone around them from the debris.

Unfortunately, Yuugi could not take the time to heal anyone that was affected by anything on the battle field, especially God-Magick. One healing would suck out the rest of his energy, and he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. It broke his heart, but he simply couldn't save anyone once they were already hurt.

Senke and Atemu seemed to be doing well. The foot soldiers were easy work once their charmed weapons were no longer such a threat. Yuugi, though still very powerful, was nowhere near full strength, and he was wearing out quickly.

A whoosh of wind informed those below that the Dragonforces were flying overhead. Yuugi sent up a small shield to protect those above from the spray of arrows heading their way. In response, archers behind him released their own set of poison-tipped arrows.

There was a mighty roar from just beyond the crumbled walls. Yuugi looked up when a shadow fell across his vision. A large, angry looking Obsidian dragon started to scale the walls. He dwarfed the out-post, being nearly twice the size of the place.

A familiar screech off to his right brought his attention around. Yuugi was amazed as Helios, small, seemingly insignificant Helios, who was by no meas full size, started to grow at an alarming rate. His gold wings reached up to the heavens as his snout extended, his fangs and teeth grew larger and sharper, and his eyes narrowed to a fiery red.

Apparently, he could assume his full size in dire situations. Yuugi had never been told that. Perhaps no one else knew until then, too?

Just as Helios launched himself at the Obsidian dragon, he was already half again as big as the black beast he was heading towards, and he was still getting bigger. A waterfall of dark colored blood gushed out of the black dragon's neck as Helios's fangs sunk in. There was a heart-stopping roar of pain as the two of them landed on the other side of the broken wall. The golden dragon's tail swished into the wall as he fought, and more debris began to fly.

In the place of those dragons, two more Obsidian dragons, just a big as the last, started to climb over the wall into the battle entrenched courtyard. Yuugi swallowed his panic as he brought he legs up to stand on Astarte's back.

Anzu had just enough time to watch as Yuugi shot into the air and, with a glow of energy around him, punched his arm out at the head of one of the dragons. The punch of power snapped its head back and caused it fall onto its side. The dragon twitched in place.

The blast of a horn announced the charging of the first line of Sacred Cavalry. They headed off into the fight with war cries and brandished weapons. Jono lined up a platoon of mage gifted and had them fire off their attacks.

Angry energy poured in, and the lines began to break a bit. Atemu and Jono rounded them back up again and launched another attack.

The air cracked with impacts as dragon met dragon, Sacreds versus Obsidians dragons, smaller, unknown varieties, and....trolls?

Anzu yelped with shock as she lopped a troll's head clean off it's shoulders. Those things were _hideous!_ The giant green oaths pounded through foot soldier and infantry lines like they were ants. The remaining dragon Sacreds that were still overhead of the fort directly dove in and took the kills.

Yuugi had just enough time after each kill to notice just how many people they were losing. The Questchal army just kept coming. They were grossly out-numbered.

Just then, the Questchal cavalry began to rain down upon them. Thunder heralded their arrival and the gravel on the ground quaked as the enemy horses plowed in. The cavalry of Sacreds and Guardians greeted them, and the fighting continued. Even Anzu could see as more of their people began to fall that Yuugi alone could not keep up with all of the forces attacking them. There were just too many of them dying. Was it really still worth it?

The thought of allowing the army to advance to El-Ekehrah itself was terrible, but it appeared to be the only option. The city itself was nearly impenetrable. Their chances of success were much greater at the city.

A moment of utter silence descended on the battle field. For a moment, the sun faded from the sky, and all of the Sekeshan fighters looked up.

A mage somewhere on the other side of the enemy lines had summoned a large rain cloud. From it, daggers began to fall. By the time the daggers had all been released, the cloud disappeared, it's energy used. Yuugi fly up into the sky to greet them, a shield so large in front of him, even Atemu didn't know it was possible for Yuugi to summon something so large. The clatter as the daggers fell and fizzled into nothingness in his shield was almost deafening. Once Yuugi's shield began to dissipate, he started to careen to the ground. The bright gold head of Helios met him halfway between the sky and the ground, and gently lowered him back to Astarte's side. Atemu tried desperately to make his way over, but a fresh batch of enemies in front of him blocked his way.

When Yuugi heard Atemu scream in frustration, he didn't see all of what was causing that, as he was too busy shaking his head out. That shield had taken a great toll on his already empty reserves.

Atemu was too shocked to speak when he realized that there was a necromancer that was once again summoning dead bodies to fight against them again.

Yuugi barely heard Atemu calling for him as yet another dragon was attempting to gnaw on the shield he'd erected over himself. He almost didn't have time to put it up, as the dragon had caught him off guard in his wearied state.

"Yuugi!" the King called out again. "Fall back! Fall back! We're retreating!"

Yuugi felt his heart drop. "What? No! We can't! We have to keep the border up!"

Black fired swirled around his shield. Yuugi's vision blurred with the stress. He shield started to crack, just as Helios landed overhead and ripped the wing out of the dragon's back that was trying to eat him.

Atemu rode up next to him and pulled him onto Senke's back. "Your energy is spent! We must retreat! It's the only chance we have left!"

Yuugi yelled in frustration. "How can we be losing?! We're stronger than they are!"

"Because," Atemu grunted. He had Senke run back towards the troops that were barely holding their line of retreat. "Their timing has been far better than ours. They keep catching us off guard. It will be our doom if we cannot anticipate their next move, or surprise them with one of our own. And besides all that," he added, "we've got yet another necromancer to contend with."

Strategy made a big difference in war, and Yuugi was starting to realize that they were still lacking greatly with strategy. They were unprepared for the tactics that Questchal was using.

When Atemu made a portal for their troops to get through, Yuugi's vision faded for more than just a second, but for nearly a whole minute. He really was completely out of energy. He passed out just as they reached the other side.

_xxx_

The conference hall was quiet and grim as everyone stared at the King. Atemu wouldn't look at anyone as he glared at the map on the table.

"This is madness," Marik finally spoke.

"Yes," was all Atemu had to say.

The sun was just beginning to rise on El-Ekehrah. Early light started to pour through the palace colonnades.

Everyone noticed how Yuugi wasn't present at this meeting. As of yet, no one had been able to wake him out of his exhaustion induced sleep.

"Here, at our cities walls? We let them come _here_?" one of the city's council members asked.

"We have no choice. El-Ekehrah is one of the best protected cities in the kingdom. With necromancy once again a growing concern in this fight, we cannot let our troops out to fight. We have to hold them off as long as we can."

Jono laced his fingers and rested his chin on them, his elbows propped up on the table. "If this isn't the last battle of this war, Sekesha will fall."

This time, Atemu did look up and met the eyes of his long time friend, confidant all through child-hood, and Cavalry Captain. "Yes," he agreed.

The air of the bright morning felt heavy and, strangely, very cold.


	30. Preparation

_Dripping Wings_

Atemu was more weary than he'd ever been in his life as he entered Yuugi's room. It was hard to think of it as his room too when he'd barely slept in it for a few hours only once.

The Healer Ryou was sitting over Yuugi. He was pushing his hand against Yuugi's forehead and checked his energy readings. Yuugi, of course, was still sound asleep.

"How is he?" Atemu asked.

Ryou leaned back in his chair and sighed. He wiped a bead of sweat away from his forehead. The heat of the desert was nearly stifling, even inside the palace, as it was past noon-day. Tiny granules of dust could be seen dancing their way up the beams of sunlight that streamed in from the windows. "Honestly?"

Atemu shifted in position. The heat was making everything uncomfortable. "Yes, honestly. What are his chances of waking up?"

Ryou mindlessly started to massage more soothing energy into Yuugi's arms. "Honestly, then, he's half dead. Every other patient I've ever had that was in this bad of shape died in a fortnight." He shook his head. "But then again, honestly, he was much worse yesterday. He should have been pronounced dead yesterday. Yuugi is definitely unique." His eyebrows narrowed. "Yuugi's insides were kind of...burned. I assume you know the difference between a fire burn and an electrical burn?"

Atemu nodded.

"Well, this burn is also very different from any of the others. He's been overexerting himself. Imagine your blood becoming very hot in your veins, and causing dis-figuration to your veins. Holes in some areas, black marks in others. The tiny ends becoming frayed. The circulatory system for Yuugi's gifts has been burned in a manner similar to this. Yesterday, he had half a circulatory system left. Right now, just the ends of his veins are left healing. Judging by how fast he's been healing, I'd say he'll probably wake up a few hours before sunrise tomorrow."

Atemu felt a small weight lift from his shoulders, and felt a painful squeeze settle around his chest instead. So Yuugi would indeed live longer, only to die more painfully. He walked up to Yuugi's side and leaned over him, brushing his fingers through his lover's hair as he did so.

"This is madness," Ryou tried to reason.

Atemu's lips thinned. "So I've been told."

Ryou felt himself flush with frustration. "How can you expect so much from him? He's been turned into a sacrificial lamb, when he's a person! This isn't fair to him! Why can't we all do more?"

Atemu did not meet Ryou's eyes when he replied to him. After all, he'd had this argument with himself every day since Northern Reach. "It's not for us to decide what happens to him. I've already challenged the fates, and it only angered them. I can only watch helplessly."

"Atemu...!" the Healer pressed.

"That is enough!" the King snapped. Dark ruby eyes locked onto Ryou. "I will hear no more of it." With that, he turned around swiftly and left the room.

The Silver-Class Healer realized that he was, for the first time in his life that he could remember, angry.

In fact, he was downright furious. He'd never felt so much anger boiling through his veins. All of them were acting like sheep! How could the King of Sekesha not see this?

_xxx_

Jono, Atemu, Marik, and the city's council was currently convening in one of the palace's many conference rooms. "The city should be evacuated," Atemu was saying. He pointed to one of the most accessible exits out of the city on the map. "We'll have someone make a portal, and we'll send every citizen unwilling or unable to fight somewhere safe. Even if we have to send them to the Divine City, they need to leave for the battle."

"Agreed," Marik replied. "Tristan and some of his platoon leaders can organize the evacuation. The faster this is done, the better. The only thing I'm worried about-"

The doors slammed open loudly and purposefully, effectively cutting off what Marik was about to say. A man with white hair and wild blue eyes stormed into the room, a permanent scowl on his face. "What madness walks into this city and turns everything upside down? Whose bright idea was it to get slaughtered at Barrier?"

"Hold your tongue!" Atemu barked. "What right have you to criticize your King?"

Marik cleared his throat. "You'll have to forgive my Captain. He can be a little overzealous at times."

The man with white hair growled. "My name is Barkura, Cavalry Captain of El-Ekehrah's Third Battalion. You're the moron who got my soldiers killed?" 

Atemu pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't act like it was planned that way. We were flying blind. How in the seven hells were we supposed to know necromancers would show up again?"

The Captain snarled. "How about some scouting? We have trained ones for a reason!"

"There wasn't time!" Atemu barked.

"That's enough, Bakura," Marik warned.

"The hell it's enough!" He roared. "Now we've got ten thousand men marching up to the city's very walls! The farmland is going to get ruined! You lot are just sitting around and letting it happen!"

Atemu's eyes narrowed. "Don't be a fool! Sitting here doing nothing? You are the one that's mad. We're doing everything! In fact, we'd probably have started the evacuation if we weren't currently bickering with you!"

"Oh, no," Bakura interjected. "I'm only bickering with you, your _Highness._"

Marik walked up and grabbed the Captain by the front of his shirt. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"If I remember my decorum correctly," Atemu began, "you swore your allegiance to the Sekeshan Monarchy when you took your oath to become a Guardian. You owe your allegiance and loyalty to me."

Bakura spat on the ground. "I swore my honor and loyalty to serve the Noble House, not a dimwit such as yourself. You've got us all sitting here like helpless infants while you set it up for your Bonded to commit suicide trying to subdue the enemy all alone."

"What Yuugi must do is out of any of our hands! It is the Goddesses that will be taking his life, not me! I would stop this if I could! Don't you dare accuse me of abandoning him!" Atemu's anger was growing. Red and black energies cackled and fizzed around his form dangerously.

"Oh, yes," the Captain still mocked, ignoring the hand that was squeezing tighter on his shirt. "The _King_ would know this, of course. 'The Goddesses want him.' How can you put so much stock in those bloody prophecies? Don't tell me you still believe the Royal Family is actually descended from the Goddesses too! How could you _possibly_ know what will happen?"

There was a deafening '_pop' _as Atemu's Shadow energy snapped, and a gust of wind rolled through the room. "_Because,_" he seethed. His wings were released, then flapped angrily behind him a few times. "I _am _descended from the Goddesses! I _spoke with them_! I _angered_ them! I accused them that what they are requesting of my Bonded, also _your King_, is wrong! Enochnral is marching on the doorstep of the Sanctuaries beyond just as His army marches on us! Yuugi isn't meant to kill an army, he's supposed to kill a _God!_"

Bakura was silenced by the news, but his face didn't look any less angry. "Fine, so Yuugi has bigger fish to fry. I get it! Then what are the rest of us supposed to do in the mean time, sit around and chew our nails?!"

"Of course not!" Atemu snapped. The King paced for a moment, then sighed. His energy levels settled back down to normal. "But Questchal isn't playing by the normal rules anymore. They are using dirty, underhanded magick, and divine forces we have never faced before." He looked up at Bakura. "We still aren't sure the best way to stop these forces decisively. I'm not sure if we know how."

Marik felt it was once again safe to release Bakura and stepped back. The Captain crossed his arms and stared at Atemu. "Then why don't we use the dirtiest, lowest tricks that we know? Everything terrible, forbidden, and illegal, magicks that we're not even allowed to talk about- let's use them! You _know_ the enemy will not stop until every single one of us is dead. If they've changed the rules, so can we!"

"Don't be absurd," Atemu replied. "Those arts are forbidden for a reason. They're dangerous. Our fighters could hurt themselves more than the enemy. Besides that, the ends do not justify the means. We have morals."

"Will you really allow your country to die by its morals? There won't be a different outcome for us except death unless we change our tactics! What good will it be for Enochnral to be dead if the rest of us don't survive!?"

Atemu did not answer right away. Even the council could see he was clearly thinking it out.

The silence stretched on for nearly five minutes.

"I agree," Jono spoke up.

Atemu's eyes were wide with surprise when he looked at him. "Why?"

"Yuugi's sacrifice will mean nothing if we can't even survive the week."

"I agree as well," Marik replied.

Atemu turned to the council. The men and women looked at him expectantly. "And what is the City of El-Ekehrah's opinion? Should we allow our people to use the magicks that have always been forbidden? Blood magick, summons, mind destruction, possession, sacrifices?"

The council shifted in position for a moment. They looked at each other, silent body language communicating volumes. The head of the council looked up at the King. "We...agree. Let it be known the records of these unspeakable events should be destroyed, should we live long enough to have them."

Atemu sighed. "All right. We'll do it." He looked over at the now eager blue eyes of the Cavalry Captain. "Bakura, I want you to head this operation. I'm sure you've already entertained a few suggestions for how these tricks should be implemented."

Bakura grinned. "You have no idea."

_xxx_

Yuugi felt himself wake very slowly. His chest felt strangely heavy, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He wondered briefly how long he'd been out of it this time. He sucked in a larger breath in an attempt to get more oxygen to his brain and opened his eyes. He saw that Ryou was sitting next to him, watching him as he woke. "Hey, Ryou."

Ryou smiled thinly. "Hello, Yuugi."

Yuugi rubbed his eyes. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About a day and a half."

He pushed himself onto his side as he attempted to sit up. "Ugh. I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

At this, the Healer grinned. "A big, fiery red semi with horns on the grill."

Yuugi sat up a little straighter. "How did you...Ryou, are you a drop-in too?"

His friend grinned. "Yeah. I came from the Chicago area originally."

"I never knew. You never mentioned..."

Ryou shrugged. "It didn't seem pertinent to mention. With my white hair, I fit in so well. Everyone in the Divine City has pale, pastel colored hair. After what I went through where I cam from, I just wanted to fit in. I didn't get a chance to know you long enough and tell you before you were whisked away to the palace."

Yuugi nodded. "I can understand that." He sighed. He really didn't feel like getting up, but he knew he would have to. "When is the army going to get here?"

Ryou shrugged. "Depends, really."

Yuugi looked up. "On what?"

"On how well the traps work."

"Traps?"

The Healer smiled. "We haven't been idle while you recovered, you know."

The King sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't have to worry about it. I'll have plenty of other things to focus on." He swung his legs to the side of the bed and let them dangle. Ryou was quiet next to him as he gathered his thoughts. "Do you think it'll hurt, Ryou?"

"What's that, Yuugi?"

"Dying."

Ryou hissed. "Those are dark thoughts, Yuugi. You shouldn't worry."

"It's coming, though. How can I not?" He hugged his arms to himself. "I'm afraid."

"Don't be," his friend pressed. "If the Goddesses are really going to go through with this, I know that they won't be cruel. You won't feel a thing."

"Said the dentist with the drill."

Ryou grinned. "I'm not a dentist, and they don't have drills in this world. Now you're being a pessimist."

Yuugi smiled. Ryou was really trying to cheer him up, and he appreciated it so much. Suddenly, his thoughts turned elsewhere. "What are you doing down here, Ryou, in El-Ekehrah?"

The Healer grinned. "What can I say? I fell in love."

"With the city?"

He shook his head. "No, with a Cavalry Captain. He's currently the mad-man behind the traps being set up for the Questchal army."

"I see."

"It'll be okay, Yuugi. I promise. I can feel it."

Yuugi smiled. "I hope your intuition is better than mine." He met eyes with him. "Thank you."

_xxx_

Bakura walked his olive green Sacred up and down the Guardians lined up before him. He had taken about six platoons out on the trap setting mission; people he knew, people he'd worked with before, and people he had suspicions that they'd toyed with the forbidden magicks and never told anyone. "I have brought you all here for a very special reason, and to spread the word when we get done here discreetly, quickly, and accurately. The Kings of Sekesha have decided that it is necessary, with some persuasion from knowledgeable sources, for our survival to use the tricks of a dark magician. Any thing you know, the darkest, dirtiest, most cunning and underhanded schemes that you know, now is the time to use them! I don't care how illegal it is, how wrong, or _horrible,_ the worse the magick the better our chances of winning. Use it! In fact, you'll all be held for treason if you _don't_ use the dark arts!"

A ripple of shock very clearly made it's way through the people gathered before him. He might have been overdoing it a little bit, but it was necessary. He couldn't afford any hesitation from anyone.

"Does anyone have any protests to this?"

There was minor shuffling, but no one said a word. Good. He knew he picked these Guardians for a reason. "All right then. It's settled. Now, onto further matters. We need to set a nasty little trap for our soon to be guests. Necromancers will be among them. Anyone got any bright ideas?"

More shuffling. Bakura frowned. They better not be cowards and actually _do_ something now that they could.

"We could spike them," someone suggested.

Bakura pointed at them. "Reynick, good. Come up here."

Reynick, a small, meek individual that was no more intimidating that a piece of cotton walked to the front of the line. He was an earth gifted mage that was rumored to have moved a small mountain whilst in training. He was fresh out of schooling and newly picked by a Sacred. Bakura had worked with him briefly, and knew from his gut instinct that this individual had dabbled in some dark things.

"Spike them how, Reynick?"

The dark haired Guardian gestured to the ground before them. "You know, set up spikes dug into the ground, then hide them. Then let the army walk right into the trap. Considering the way Sekesha has been fighting its wars recently, they won't be expecting anything like it."

"Good," Bakura nodded. "Now, make it worse. Anyone else have suggestions?"

A tall, lanky woman raised her hand. Bakura didn't even recognize her to be female at first, considering her body shape. She was homely looking, but talented. "There's...something that can be done to the spikes. It's complicated, but effective."

"Explain further."

She grabbed at her arm in hesitation. After all, these were things that she wasn't supposed to know how to do, but she did anyway. No one was supposed to talk about these things. "I could use blood magick, and turn the spikes into a sacrificial pit. Once the enemy's blood hit the spikes, it would bind their souls to me, and their bodies would be mine to control. I could use the bodies to send up a noxious gas that could poison those above them."

"Very good!" Bakura cheered. "The nastier the better! I don't care if there is nothing left of the Questchal army's existence, in this life or the next, when we get done with them! More ideas! How are we supposed to deal with these necromancers?"

"That's easy," someone spoke up. "The way to a necromancer is through the corpse they are using. The corpse has no mind, and is directly linked to the mage in question. If a soldier has the ability, simply making eye contact with the corpse is all that is needed. Use the link to send conflicting and confusing thoughts to the necromancer. When using blood magick like that, if the necromancer gets confused and the link with the corpse is messed with, the magick will revolt, and the necromancer will eventually...explode from within. Their blood vessels will collapse and the magick will burst."

"Excellent! Mind control tactics! Next!" Bakura roared. He was getting excited now. _These_ were the things that were necessary to destroy their enemy!

"Turn the necromancy to our side!" Someone replied.

"Poisons that are air-borne, and only activated by the God-Magick of Enochnral!"

"Summon daemons from the Droll Realm to help us! They drag their pray into the next realm with them!"

Bakura laughed maniacally on the inside. "Wonderful! We will survive this!" He cried. "Questchal won't destroy us! Now! Reynick, make your pit. Karlehna, coat it with your blood magick! Teach your tricks to your comrades if you can! We have a lot of preparation to do in order to greet our guests properly."

Some of the people even grinned. Perhaps they could do this.


	31. Sacrifice

_Dripping Wings_

Dawn broke over the golden city of El-Ekehrah. Young rays of sunlight burned the few clouds in the sky a fiery orange-red. There was still a chill on the early morning air. Drops of dew still clung to the sand covered buildings.

Yuugi's hand clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword. He and Atemu were currently standing on the top of the tallest and, really, only tower of the palace. The view was spectacular, and Yuugi would have enjoyed it, if he weren't currently looking at the army that was ten-thousand strong as it walked closer and closer to the city's walls. They were less than a mile away.

It was a strange feeling that fluttered in his chest when he saw the first three rows of men simply fall away into the sands. He couldn't see very much, considering the distance, but the sounds of souls being ripped apart carried all of the way to the other side of the city.

Fear was permeating him. He didn't want to die.

The dark magicks that were being employed had the enemy lines in a swarm. Yuugi knew there were too many men and not enough traps to really stop the army, but it was putting a good dent in their front lines.

"The Goddesses will likely be angry at us for using these methods," Yuugi remarked.

Atemu shook his head. "The Goddesses don't care about any of that."

Yuugi looked at him curiously. "Why wouldn't they? I thought they banned dark magick."

Atemu smiled thinly. "No, they didn't. Lies and Wives' tales. Magick exists because of the Goddesses, it wouldn't make sense for them to ban a magick they created. Why would we even be born with the ability to use it?" He shook his head. "No, we made it illegal for us to use dark magick. It's like...a small child with a curfew. No one in the Divine City is allowed to be out alone after dark if they are under the age of ten. It's not a sin, or an act of evil for a child to be out alone at night, but it's dangerous, and it can lead to trouble. Dark magick is powerful, and useful, but it is very easy to abuse those spells. It was easier to simply ban them, then to deal with the consequences of misuse."

Yuugi nodded. "Makes sense, I suppose." He looked back at the Questchal army. "Our blood bond then..."

"Completely and entirely illegal. And also completely ignored by the Goddesses, because, technically, we didn't do anything wrong."

Yuugi sucked in a shuttering breath. The sun was getting higher. "I'm afraid, Atemu."

The King's eyes softened. "Oh, darling..." He wrapped his arms around Yuugi in a desperate hug. "This is not the end. After today..." he paused. Yuugi heard his breath catch. Atemu was born royalty, and while he had never hesitated to show his emotions to his Bonded, it was still difficult for him to truly break down, especially with his entire world resting on his shoulders that day. "After today, you're going to feel like you've been asleep in our bed for a while. Time will travel differently for you. By the time you wake up, I'll be there, and it won't feel like we've been separated at all."

Yuugi tried to picture sleeping in their bed again, without any cares in the world. "You make it sound so easy."

"It will be. I promise."

"How do you know what it's like on the other side?"

Atemu brushed a stray bang behind Yuugi's ear. "I have seen it. The memories of my ancestors are stored away in the Hall of Remembrance. Some of my ancestors have memories of the after life, and left the memories there for their descendants to see."

Proof was a nice thing, Yuugi realized. It was very reassuring, and comforting. But still...

"We're going to make history today," Atemu cut into his thoughts.

Yuugi chuckled. "I never thought making history would be so painful. I don't see the glory here, not the way the books always talk about the past. It's all so...I don't know what it is, but it's not great."

Atemu pulled away from him and kissed him. He did not comment. Instead, he allowed his conscious to brush up against Yuugi's, and all of the fear, doubt, confusion, pain, longing, love, and dread for his future alone was laid out before Yuugi's mind.

Indeed, how did one convey so much in just a few words? Yuugi didn't think it could be done.

"Your Highnesses."

They were interrupted by Marik, who had just walked through the door that led to the enclosed staircase down. Yuugi forced his emotions into the far back corner of his mind and locked them away. Hell, he wouldn't even be able to examine them later, so he didn't even bother to examine some of them as he pushed his thoughts away. It wouldn't matter about things forgotten. They wouldn't come back up again.

"Yes, Marik," Atemu responded.

"The evacuation is done. You're needed on the ground."

The horizon started to glow and unearthly red. The three of them up on the tower turned to look, and Yuugi saw for the first time the full manifestation of a Goddess on earth.

The Sekeshan army was lined up and stationed at their posts, awaiting the attack. Ahna, the Goddess of War, was blessing her soldiers before the battle.

Her mass of colors and energy was transparent and yet so bright up in the morning sky. She had no legs, no real body, but her face, her eyes, her hair, and her arms were visible. The rest was all swirls of energy and what looked like it could have been a dress that acted as if it was under the pull of an ocean current.

Her hair matched her eye color, which was a fuchsia so dark pink it was like bloodied rubies.

A swift wind blew across the city, and as the energy in the wind settled into the soldiers the image of the Goddess faded away.

This was the world he was fighting for. Yuugi was reminded of that as he felt the energy of the goddess seep into his soul. This world that needed the be saved, and he was going to save it. _Perhaps I can do this after all._

"We're ready," Atemu said.

Yuugi smiled at Marik as he spread his wings. "I'll meet you guys on the ground."

Marik felt a little envious as Yuugi jumped onto the railing and dove out of the tower like a swimmer into water. Yuugi made flight look as easy as breathing.

Atemu really wanted to join him, but there were matters in the palace he needed to attend to before he could make it to the city walls proper. "Let's go, Marik. I expect to be fighting by breakfast."

"Yes, your Highness."

_xxx_

Bakura's tactics had worked exceedingly well. Questchal had not expected what was dished out to them. A quarter of them were dead, and at least half had been infected with some sort of malady. In at least another hour or so, they would be dead, too. If they held out long enough, there would only be a few hundred of them left, and would pose no threat at all.

Now if only there wasn't a flock of dragons the size mountains rabidly flying their way.

Not to mention they still hasn't done anything to the necromancers that were hidden within the army lines.

Bakura could wait on that, though. All he needed was a couple of corpses, and he'd be able to kill off the necromancers behind them.

The boom that resounded from the air as dragon met dragon could have crushed stone. Bakura's heart quivered with excitement. While he had no wish to die, he couldn't deny how much he loved a battle. The bigger, the better it was.

The Guardian next to him released an arrow that was charmed to take control of the enemy that it landed in. When the arrow struck one of the men that had ventured closer to the city's towering walls, he fell to his knees. His eyes went blank, then he got up without a word and began to attack the ones next to him.

His comrades killed him quickly with a swift sword to his neck, but he'd taken out a good dozen men before he died.

Absolutely perfect.

The archers from below knocked their bows, and on a call from their commander, released a torrent of arrows.

Bakura looked up as he erected a shield around himself and those close to him. The arrows blotted out the still new sun in the sky.

There were cries from around him as some of his brethren were struck down. Damn the perils of war. "Fire Gifted!" Bakura bellowed.

There were two dozen men and women lined up along the walls, and they nodded their ready. Bakura pointed downward. "Fire!"

Fire, indeed. It was a firestorm that was released. The heat was intense, and began to melt some of sands below.

Some men screamed, some shielded, and some used water gifts.

A mile down the wall, bright flashes of light sizzled and hissed as it was released. Lighting gifted released their element with an angry vengeance.

Then came the ladders, ropes, and more dragons with fighters in their talons. Bakura had to admit, he hadn't anticipated the enemy dragons picking up their own men and dropping them on the other side of the city walls.

He didn't start to worry about them until some of them started to explode around the soldiers that swarmed them, and some of them raised a few dead corpses up to fight for them.

Blood mages...! Inside the city walls!

Bakura also hadn't expected to Atemu to storm into view with fiery eyes and a glowing red sword raised. The armor and bandages that had been wrapped around Senke glowed a red darker than dried blood. As the Sacred pounded the Questchal soldiers into pudding, and as Atemu's sword cut through the blood mages, in the wake of their death a flurry of energy rose and soaked into the now blood covered sword and charmed armor of Senke.

He was employing the dark arts, too, and judging by the aura of those that followed him, so were the soldiers with him.

Perhaps Atemu wasn't the dimwit Bakura had originally pinned him as. So long as he kept using the dark arts well...

The ear-splitting cry of a dragon overhead caught the attention of those directly beneath it. It was a brown and splotchy red in color, like blood had been spilled into a pool of mud. It was carrying more blood mages in it's talons to drop onto those below.

Bakura whistled when he saw the brightly glowing figure of Yuugi as he flew on to meet the dragon. Yuugi punched the dragon in the head. The magick he used snapped in the air. The dragon's neck broke and it flew backwards. The giant beast landed on the wall of the city. Eight feet of stone broke under the weight, and the body of the beast fell down and back onto the Questchal front lines. _Damn that boy is strong._

Three more dragons came to take its place.

As the battle raged, it seemed that the two sides were simply at a stale-mate. The walls did not move, and Questchal had no real advantage. Their lines were thinning, but they were far from diminished.

Yuugi was getting tired and, regrettably, quite bored, as he kept fighting off the same things. He had remained the the air the whole time, being the strongest force even among the dragon Sacreds that held the lines above the city walls.

He felt his heart shake when the earth below groaned under the onslaught of El-Ekehrah's walls crumbling to pieces. A gap in the wall fifty feet wide came into existence, and Questchal pounced.

Yuugi wasn't sure what had caused the wall to crumble, but it wasn't doubted that magick was involved. He watched as the Sekeshan forces inside the walls met the flow head-on. At the front of the lines, he could see a flicker of red as Atemu's cloak flapped in the wind behind him. His sword was raised, and he rallied his troops and they slaughtered their opponents. Yuugi felt a bit of pride swell within him. Atemu was a good and strong leader, and he would do fine without him.

Now if only they could stop this stupid war, then there wouldn't be anything for him to worry about.

He decided it was perhaps time for him to join the fight on the ground. He flapped his wings once more, then closed them and went into a graceful dive. He expertly dodged a few arrows as he made his way down. He smiled when he saw Astarte near the part of the collapsed wall, at the front of the fight even though he wasn't with her at the moment. He back-winged and kicked up dust as he came closer, and landed on her back easily. "Sorry I'm late, Astarte." He drew his sword.

His horse snorted as she reared and planted her hooves into the face of a brown clad soldier. _:Better late than never. At least you made sure the enemy dragons are trying to stay well away from you.: _

He laughed a little, and allowed his blade to get its first taste of blood that day as he beheaded a man coming his way with a double headed axe.

If anyone had told Yuugi Motou before he'd come to Sekesha that he would laugh about dragons fearing him and killing men without blinking, he'd have laughed for the sheer ridiculousness of a claim, then kindly pointed the individual to the nearest insane asylum.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a terrible _something_ stormed through the opening and exploded. Yuugi felt like he was watching a sick rendition of the movie '_Tremors_,' for the earth moved and dust was kicked up in a cloud like a large creature was moving just beneath the surface. At the end of the it, the head of the 'creature' exploded. Bodies flew everywhere. Many of them had become dismembered.

Yuugi closed his eyes from the image and felt his body tremble with anger. He was sure, with the aura that the attack had sent off, that it was an earth gifted from the enemy lines that had casued the explosion.

And that's the way the next half hour of fighting seemed to pan out. Just as Yuugi felt they were starting to get the upper hand against Questchal, there would be another fallout, and all hell would break loose. He couldn't keep up, and neither could his comrades around him. At one point in time, Jono had called to him to join his ranks, and they created yet another front against the enemy lines. Yuugi was finding himself quite preoccupied with this task, and suddenly realized that the more they fought, the further they moved inside of the city. "We're losing ground!" he shouted to Jono.

The Cavalry Captain grunted as, in one flurry, three men dropped at his feet. "I know, I know! But would should we do?"

Yuugi looked around him and saw they were next to a large building with steps, and many goddess statues. He started to form and idea. "Get the archers!" he yelled.

Jono nodded and complied. In a few minutes, they'd hidden themselves among the statues and readied their charmed bows. He dismounted Astarte so that he could crouch and hide better.

At the moment, Questchal's lines were getting very close, but Yuugi was worried, because he knew they were going to run out of arrows sooner or later.

One man in particular got very close to the statues that everyone was using for cover. Just as his sword was about plunge itself into the heart of a Sekeshan archer, Yuugi saw the biggest shock of his life.

Hearing stone move was rather hard to explain, considering the fact that stone wasn't supposed to actually _move._ The statue that the archer was behind was in fact a statue of Kyanah, the Goddess of Love. The statue glowed a soft pink as the stone woman lifted her staff and knocked the head clean off the man's shoulders. Her face was expressionless as her feet left the place they'd been carved in and she wandered into the enemy lines and started to decimate them.

The other statues followed.

Yes, Yuugi was definitely shocked. So were the men and women he was fighting with. Even the incredibly tall status that towered taller than obelisks marched forward to the fight.

Yuugi realized that if the Divine City was ever attacked, the statues there would defend the city, too.

With a grin of triumph, he ran back into the fray and, noticing that Astarte was next to him, vaulted onto her back and started swinging his sword again. It felt good.

Yuugi felt a tremor deep, deep down in his soul, and somewhere far off, he heard Atemu yell out in pain.

Far off to his left, he saw his Bonded clutch as his shoulder and fall off of Senke's back. He'd been under a rain of arrows, and one had struck home. "_No!!_" he screeched. He heard Astarte screech in his mind as he stood on her back and used her height to propel him into the air.

A large, black dragon landed over Atemu and breathed out a torrent of fire at those that were trying to attack him, effectively protecting him. Yuugi flew over the dragon and dove down. In an expert bit of flying, he grabbed Atemu from the ground, went completely underneath of the dragon, and flew back into the air.

"Yuugi!" Atemu bellowed. The wind carried away most of his voice.

"It's all right, Atemu. I've got you." Yuugi landed just behind most of the fighting and started to attend to the wound. Luckily, thank the _goddess _luckily there was no God-Magick on this arrow.

"Yuugi, you shouldn't risk flying like that just to get to me. I would have been fine. There were at least six healers all within reach of me-ah!" He cried out in pain as Yuugi snapped the end off the arrow and started started to push it through.

"Hush, love, and don't give me lip. There's no way I'd leave you be when there's an arrow sticking out of your shoulder."

The King yelled again and clutched at Yuugi's arm as the arrow finally came free. Yuugi then began to proceed with applying his gifts and heal the wound.

Yuugi grinned as he got done and Atemu sat up all the way. "I swear, Atemu, I can't leave you alone for five minutes without something happening, can I?"

Atemu could only give him a half of a grin in response. "I'd punish you for _your_ lip if we weren't currently knee deep in Questchal's blood."

Yuugi's eyes darkened at the reminder, but he stood up just the same and unsheathed his sword. "The battle is far from over."

As Atemu went to stand, the heavens screamed.

The sky was torn in two, and energy poured out in an angry fury. Yuugi stood stock still, though his arms and legs shook as he witnessed the heavens literally bleed out the angry monster that was hell-bent on destroying them all.

Atemu never really gave much thought as to what would have to happen for Yuugi to kill Enochnral, but the actual manifestation wasn't what he was anticipating. The God that came down looked much like a man, except for the fact that he was easily as large as the city his people were currently attacking. His head was bald, and his eyes were so dark a brown they were nearly black. His skin was as brown as his people.

The Questchal army below seemed to gain a strength that no man or woman could possess, and in the presence of their god, they began to demolish the Sekeshan army

Yuugi covered his mouth to contain his panicked cry. Atemu went to grab him and hold him close, but he never got the chance.

Yuugi shook his head to put his thoughts back in order, and was up in the air before Atemu could pull him back down. "Yuugi, no!" he called.

Now that it had come down to it, he couldn't bare to watch it happen.

Against a God the size a mountain, one tiny speck of light lifted into the air and hovered defiantly in front of him. Enochnral yelled out in anger, and the remaining walls of El-Ekehrah crumbled. He moved and arm back and released a fist in Yuugi's direction.

The clash of one mighty fist and one tiny Assai brought both armies to their knees. The ground quaked beneath their feet.

Everyone heard Yuugi scream as he gathered his energy and sent it Enochnral's way.

Yuugi's attack never diminished. Around him three spectral figures began to appear. Walls of silver, gold, and platinum glowed around him and encircled him. Atemu's eyes focused, and saw the Three Sisters faintly in focus within those walls of light. When they extended their arms and forced their energy into Yuugi, his heart sunk.

This was it. It was truly the end.

Yuugi was nothing more than their conduit as they pumped their energy into him and, through him, forced it into Enochnral.

Anzu and Ryou were near Atemu when the fit began. As Yuugi's life was drained into the attack, Atemu clutched at his heart and fell to his knees.

"Your Highness!" Anzu cried and landed at his side.

Atemu screamed and crumbled fully to the ground. Ryou was next to him and tried to use his gifts to keep him calm.

"Ryou, what's happening?" Anzu asked in hysterics.

The Healer broke into a sweat as he tried to contain the King. "The blood bond is breaking!"

"Yuugi!" Atemu screamed again. His eyes were squeezed closed, and still he clutched at his chest as though someone had ripped his heart out.

Almost in response, from above, Yuugi's scream, fueled by the magick of the Goddesses, filled every ear and building of El-Ekehrah.

Red energy danced around Atemu and hissed loudly. His body convulsed beyond his control as the magick seized control of him and poured agony through his veins.

There was a cry from Enochnral as he started to fade. Ryou had thought it would be more earth shattering as the god began to die, but instead, it was a quiet fading that started to erase him from existence.

No, the loudest noise at the moment was Yuugi as he continued to scream. Many people were clutching their heads to cover their ears from the painful noise. It was deafening, heart breaking, and quite literally painful. Many had blood oozing from their damaged ear drums.

It was probably only a heart beat later, but if felt like a lifetime, when the screaming died away. Enochnral gave one last groan of effort before he faded away. The three lights in the sky faded away as well, leaving Yuugi hanging in the sky for a short breath, before his limp body began to fall to the ground.

Ryou did not have the heart to hold Atemu back as the King pushed through his terrible pain and, as he released his wings, he headed skyward. He caught the body of his now dead Bonded halfway to the ground. He landed as quickly as he could and held Yuugi's body close.

The sand covered ground beneath the feet of the remaining Questchal soldiers crumbled inward. It was with a great shock as everyone watched the last of the Questchal army fall into the earth and disappear, the ground having swallowed them all whole.

There was no enemy left.

There was also no more Yuugi. He had died. Atemu wailed in misery as he held the now cold body close to him. His body was still mostly numb from the pain of the blood bond breaking. He could barely feel the body in his arms, but he didn't care about any of that. The gaping whole where his heart had once been hurt more than anything else.

Yuugi could not even tell Ryou that his friend had lied, for dying had been painful. More painful that anything he'd ever felt in his life.

Atemu was lost in his own world as those around him started to move and pick up the pieces. He didn't see as someone magicked over the body of Astarte next to him to rest alongside Yuugi. Atemu didn't know that she'd died protecting them as Yuugi healed the King's wound. He didn't even know that Senke was next to him, terribly wounded.

Helios and Velinah? Not even a flicker in his mind, even though Velinah was missing half of her left wing, and Helios's tale had been sliced down to the bone.

It was a good two hours before he had the voice to tell Marik that he was going back to the Divine City immediately, and he was going to bury Yuugi before he did anything else.

Marik nodded his understanding, and decided that he would tell Atemu later that Jono's body was also lying next to him, and would be transported back to his home city for burial with the rest of his fallen brethren. Later, when Atemu's heart could take it.

If it could take anything more than it already had.

_xxx_

_For those of you that might leave a story after one of the main characters has died, I urge you to stay with me. I promise that you will miss the best part of the story if you quit now. There is _much_ more to come!_ -_SilverLily aka Blood Moon _


	32. Entity

_Dripping Wings_

It had taken only two days for the final ceremony to be coordinated. Burial of a Sekeshan monarch was very strict, and very formal, and for Yuugi, no expense had been spared when it came to honoring his name, and his memory.

Near the back of the palace, where the stables were placed and in the shadow of the atrium, a large platform had stood erected since the beginning of the city's existence. So carved in a plaque of electrum at the base of the stepped platform, it proclaimed the age of the structure, being older than the palace itself.

Every royal that had ever died had been carefully cleaned, dressed, and laid to rest for one final moment in the public eye before being buried in the royal catacombs. After all, if the Queen or King in question had been truly loved, then the public should be allowed to say their final goodbye as well.

There was a light mist in the air which made everything moist, but it was nowhere near a rainfall. Next to the King of Sekesha stood the Magistrate Isis, High Guardian Marik of El-Ekehrah, Lilian, the Silver Class Healer Ryou, his lover Bakura, Mai, Anzu, Ayana and Daemon, Yuugi's once tutors, and the High Priestesses of every Goddess from the main temples of the city. All of these individuals held a place of honor next to the King. Helios, his size once again scaled down, and Velinah, with her still broken wings, sat off the the side as well.

Atemu could only stare with empty eyes at Yuugi's body as it lay peacefully on the stone platform. Astarte's body had been cleaned as well, and she was placed next to him, as was custom for a Guardian/Sacred bond that had perished.

It was time for him to say goodbye.

It would be nearly impossible. Especially now, with Jono dead. Atemu had been shell-shocked, and even more so when Mai had broken down into hysterical tears. He had not known the two were involved with each other.

The entire city had turned out for the ceremony, as was their right. Word spread like a wild fire in a dry fall of Yuugi's victory over the Evil God, and the country's victory over their lifetime enemy of Questchal.

The thirteen High Priestesses walked around Yuugi's body and spread their arms in prayer. Atemu did not register what they were saying, nor did he care to try. The day was taking far too long to be over.

He also did not notice that the belly of the High Priestess of Tranquility was already starting to bulge with his and Yuugi's unborn child. He could hardly remember performing that ceremony just over a month ago.

Had it really only been a month since he and Yuugi had awoken to the sounds of Isis crying out her fear of the attack? It felt like a lifetime ago.

Atemu was brought out of his thoughts as someone nudged him in the shoulder. It appeared that Isis was rousing him, as he had been called by the Priestesses to come forth.

"Your Highness, it's time for you to say your final goodbye, as is custom."

So much with the customs today. Please, let it be over soon.

"Atemu," Isis began.

The King looked back at her, his expression blank. "Yes?"

"It would be healthy for you to cry. This is the last time you'll see his face." Her eyes held concern for him.

Atemu looked away from her, back at the body he was supposed to walk up to. "I would cry, Isis, if I had a heart left to cry with." He started to walk towards the platform. "When Yuugi died, so did everything within me."

Isis was actually worried for his mental health as Atemu started to climb the stairs to Yuugi's side.

Yuugi's porcelain face was moist with the mist from the air. Atemu thought briefly that it appeared as if Yuugi had doused himself in glitter, one of those strange things he would sometimes mention from his old world.

Boneless, yet still somehow graceful, he saw down and looked at the perfect face that looked skyward.

He could have shot arrows at the hearts of the citizens below him crying. They knew nothing of his pain. Why couldn't have this been done in private?

He lifted his hand and gently traced the curve Yuugi's very cold cheek. "This is it, my love. I told you, that you would not have to wait long. Perhaps I didn't realize how soon that actually was, until now."

He was still for a moment longer. He'd have to make this quick, after all, to have no one stop him. He may have even changed his mind on the whole matter, but the news of Jono's death had not gone over quite so well.

His best friend and his soul mate, dead in one single miserable day. He could take no more grief from this world.

After all, the burial of everyone else was supposed to happen tomorrow, and he could not sit through another moment of this torture.

He heard everyone that had just stood next to him cry out in panic as he lifted the dagger from it's sheath on his right hip and poised it over his heart.

It would hurt, but only for a moment. Then it would be dark, then a wave of light, and then Yuugi's face, bright and shining, would come into view. He smiled as he allowed his dagger to fall. He couldn't wait to see Yuugi again.

Atemu's body jerked when the force of his arm was stopped abruptly. It felt as if his muscles had been encased in stone, for he could not budge his arm even an inch.

"_**Stay your hand, my dear child. Do not be so hasty."**_

Atemu's red eyes looked at the soft, feminine had that was currently holding his arm in place, the dagger only half an inch from his chest, then looked up.

Soft purple eyes looked down at him. The face of the woman looked similar to Yuugi's, for her face shape was nearly the same, and her smile was just as bright. Her hair was a platinum sheen, and it was so smooth it was like looking at glass. She wore a painfully simple dress that reached just beyond her knees.

Beside her stood a man with equally bright, silver straight hair and terribly stern features. His eerily red eyes were narrowed, and his arms were crossed. He wore black armor with no trim.

The woman's hand felt like it weighed as much as as all of the waters in the ocean. When the man took two steps closer, the reality around him seemed to bend and twist, then settled again as he stood still.

Atemu's mouth dropped open in shock. Could it be? How was it possible? Reality itself couldn't truly be supporting the manifestation of these ancient beings! "The two Ideals," he found himself saying. "Peace and Love, Loyalty and Justice. How is this so...?"

The woman, the embodiment of all of the peace and love in known existence, smiled at him kindly. _**"We have waited a million years for Enochnral's presence to be wiped from this world so that we may once again love the children we have placed here properly, by being among them."**_

The dagger fell out of Atemu's hand and clattered to stone surface he was resting on.

The Entity removed Her hand from his arm and directed Her eyes down at Yuugi's soft face. Her features softened. _**"My poor son. Please, my dear King, forgive us for what we have put him through. When his mortal caretakers whisked him away to that other world, we feared we had lost him for good. His task here was more important than any destiny to have been set upon this world before. Such punishments are now over, thanks to him." **_

Atemu had never, ever expected such a revelation to be proposed to him. Mortal caretakers? Of all the things holy on the earth...it made so much sense now. So much, painful, cruel, clear sense.

_I fell in love with the son of no mere god and goddess, but the two Entities!. Yuugi never even knew of his true origins. Never had even the slightest clue..._ No Assai in recorded history has as much strength as Yuugi had possessed.

Atemu wanted to even laugh in the face of it all. _I really am such a fool._

The Entity leaned down and blew Her breath on Yuugi's face. Something small and glowing ignited in that air, and slowly slid into Yuugi's mouth and down his throat. Atemu watched fascinated as the glow seemed to permeate Yuugi's entire being.

And then he breathed, and his chest rose with the struggle of it all.

He _breathed._ Then he breathed again. And again. And again! Atemu felt his heart start to lift as Yuugi's chest moved, and his eyes slowly fluttered open. He appeared confused as he stared into the King's ruby red eyes. "A...Atemu?" he asked.

Atemu laughed, smiled, and pulled Yuugi into his arms. "Yuugi," was all he could find the will to say.

Yuugi's eyes strained elsewhere, and faced the soft look of the Entity still leaning close to him. _**"Hopefully you will forgive us again, Yuugi, for we have taken you from your earned slumber. There are more tasks for you here. Your work is not done yet."**_

He stared up at Her in shock. "Who are you?"

She did not reply as She stood. In his mind, though, he heard Her soft voice continue on a different subject. :_Your powers will not be what they once were, my son. This mortal body of yours has gone through your proverbial hell and back, and it has been scarred. It will never heal all of the way. Your ability to heal will never leave you or diminish, but that is simply a part of who and what you are. For you to live is for you to be able to heal. The rest, however, may grow stronger in time, but I urge you not to attempt to fight dragons alone anymore._:

Yuugi almost laughed, for he'd never wanted to in the first place. "I'm alive?" was all he found himself asking.

"Yes, love, you are _alive_," Atemu answered him.

The Entity backed away from them and stood next to the silent Entity of Just and Loyalty. As She stood next to Him, He wrapped His arms around Her form. For a moment They stood there, then with the blink of an eye, They vanished into thin air. A bright light flooded the area, and specks of light no bigger than snowflakes descended to the ground, then disappeared too as they hit the ground.

Atemu noticed the heads of every person in the clearing as they bowed low to the ground in reverence.

After the sight that had just been seen, he had to admit he wasn't surprised.

"Atemu, I hurt everywhere," Yuugi spoke. His body shuddered in his lover's arms. "It was so warm before. Why do I hurt so much?"

Atemu pulled him closer. With one hand, he unclasped his cloak and placed over Yuugi's body to keep him warm. Even with this amazing turn of events, things were going to be far from easy. "Hush, darling. You just need rest. You've just been through hell, went to heaven, then came back again. I'm sure you're going to hurt for a while."

There was a loud snort, then a disgruntled whinny, as the white horse next to them rolled over and got to her feet. :_Why in heaven's name was I on my side with all of these _ridiculous_ ribbons around me! If someone put me here as a prank...!_: She turned around and olive green eyes landed on the two of them. Yuugi and Atemu saw the understanding dawn on her face. :_Of course. I remember. Yuugi, we're alive?_:

Yuugi almost laughed, but stopped as pain ran up and down in spirals through his chest. "Yes, we're alive."

Everyone in the clearing cheered thunderously.

_xxx_

It had been well over a month since Yuugi's miraculous resurrection. No one outside of the restricted area of the palace had seen him. Atemu allowed only hand picked and oath-sworn servants and guards be anywhere near him. Yuugi's state was tragically weak and rather unstable. His body was taking a long time trying to adjust to being alive, and healing itself completely from death.

Mahaado, the only guard Atemu trusted to watch Yuugi when he first moved into the palace, was a near permanent fixture in Yuugi's chambers. He rarely ever left his King's bedside, and Atemu told him to not leave until instructed otherwise.

Mai had been seeing red and sinking in grief since the day Yuugi had been brought back to the world of the living. How was it fair, for those damned 'Entities' to bring back Yuugi and ignore Jono? Her lover had fought well! He'd served with everything in his being, sacrificed everything, just as Yuugi had, and what kind of recognition did he receive?!

Why shouldn't she be allowed a lifetime of happiness with him? It was all so unfair.

That was why, about a month and a half into Yuugi's bedridden state, did Mai find herself shocked to be holding a tray of food one of the palace cooks had placed in her hands.

"Please," the woman replied. Her red hair was greasy and slicked back from a full day's work in a hot kitchen, and her eyes were tired. "The usual servant of His Highness is ill right now, and His Majesty will not allow anyone but a Guardian or higher from within his circle anywhere near that bedchamber. Master Yuugi needs his dinner brought up to him, and right now, you're to only one qualified enough to bring it to him."

Absolutely preposterous! So much fuss over a ridiculous meal. Mai set her face, but knew it was useless to argue. Atemu might have her head if she was so disobedient.

Swallowing her wounded pride, Mai headed to the last part of the palace she wanted to see at the moment.

The entrance to the restricted hallways was currently guarded by three men and two women, all of whom she knew to be powerful individuals. They really didn't want anything near Yuugi, did they? It's like they were all protecting a fragile piece of glass.

She even recognized one of the men as Tristan. Tristan, of El-Ekehrah! What was he doing all of the way up here? She stopped at the door, still holding that stupid tray of food, and looked at him. "Tristan, what are you doing around here? Won't El-Ekehrah miss you?"

The brown haired man shrugged. "Perhaps. But I was kind of tired of the heat. Besides, Yuugi saved my life, at nearly the cost of his own. After all that's happened...I felt I needed to be here."

Mai frowned, but did not comment on his statement. "I just need to get through," was all she said instead. "This is Yuugi's dinner."

Tristan looked at his comrades, and they all nodded their heads. Mai could be trusted to move onward.

Tristan opened the door for her and Mai pressed onward.

It was a long walk to the royal chambers. Mai was lucky she knew the palace inside and out, for she would have surely been lost otherwise with how many twists and turns Atemu had placed between the guarded doors and Yuugi's room.

She had not expected to see Mahaado sitting down in a chair just outside of the royal chambers, his shoulders lax and his eyes closed. He did not look asleep, for his face was too tense for that, but he looked drained. "Mahaado," she asked carefully.

The purple haired guard opened his blue eyes and looked at her. He smiled thinly. "Hello, Mai. It's been a while."

Mai nearly snorted. "No one's seen you in a fortnight, Mahaado. It's not surprising."

The guard nodded. He was quiet for a moment as he looked at the tray in Mai's hands. "I wondered what had been taking so long for that. Where's Caryleahn?"

"The cook said she's ill today," Mai supplied.

Mahaado nodded. "I suppose. It's the second day she's been gone." He rubbed at his face with his hands. Mai questioned his wearied state. "It's been a hard day," he remarked. "Today has not been one of his Highness's better days."

Mai frowned at him, but Mahaado opened up the door just the same for her to let her through.

Mai almost dropped the tray from surprise, because she had not expected Atemu to be in there as well, leaning over Yuugi as he ran his hands through his lover's hair.

"-today. I worry about you so, Yuugi." Mai walked in right in the middle of one of Atemu's sentences.

Yuugi sighed painfully in the bed. Mai noticed how his face was very ashen in color. "No matter what we've tried, the pain doesn't leave," Yuugi was saying. His once strong voice held little life in it. "I'm so tired, Atemu."

Mai quietly placed the tray next to Yuugi's bedside table. The two on the bed completely ignored her.

"I know," Atemu replied. His voice was laced with pain. "It will get better, Yuugi. I promise it will. Tranquility said it will be another month or so, but you will be able to walk again."

He couldn't even walk? Mai ducked her head a little as she slowly backed out of the room. She hadn't known Yuugi's state was really so bad.

"Don't sleep in the other room again tonight, Atemu. I can't bear another night away from you."

"Yuugi, you know Ryou said you're body can't be jostled, even in the slightest. There's so much risk involved."

"I beg you, Atemu. For the love of the goddesses, stay with me."

Mai walked out of the room entirely as she heard Atemu begin to crumble under Yuugi's pained stare.

Mahaado's eyes found hers when she closed the door entirely. "Do you see now?" he asked her.

Mai felt herself shiver. "I hadn't known it was so bad." It hurt just to even _look_ at, but to actually have to be one of them? She shook her head. "It's just so _awful._"

Mahaado nodded. "Every single day I look at that sight. My defenses are wearing thin."

Mai shivered again. She found her anger flooding away in the wake of this new light shed on their predicament. Jono would have cursed every single day he was like that. He would have begged her every day to end it for him, for no life was worth living for him if it meant living like that.

As Mai walked away, she was no longer envious of Yuugi and Atemu. She wouldn't wish that on herself or anyone else as long as she lived.

So, for the moment, she was content with the fact that she was now living alone, and did not have the burden of a half dead loved one bearing down on her heart.


	33. Unfinished Business

_Dripping Wings_

Yuugi only woke up when he heard Helios growl lowly in his throat. The golden Sun dragon had shrunken down into a size that was currently smaller than his natural one, which made it far easier for him to rest on the bench that had been placed at the foot of Yuugi's bed. Helios had taken his post up in the bedroom once again, and left Yuugi's side only sparingly. It was one of the talents that both Astarte and Velinah were very jealous of. The two had only seen Yuugi a few times in the past few months.

It was the sound of the door handle moving that had caused the dragon to growl. He lifted his head up and swiveled it towards the door. Yuugi felt no tension, especially as it was somewhere around noon. Indeed, it was only Ryou that walked through the door with a smile on his face. His healer friend looked at him with alert brown eyes. "Hey, Yuugi. How are you feeling today?"

Yuugi grinned as he sat up in the bed and pushed himself against the headrest. "Better than I've been in a while." Ryou walked up to the side of the bed. He had a set of clothes in his arms. Yuugi recognized the loose material. "More therapy today?"

Ryou's smile widened. "Yeah. You know the drill."

Yuugi sighed. Indeed, he knew. With a grunt, he pushed himself to an upright position. He wore only boxers at the moment- an article he'd insisted be made for himself. Boxers weren't a normal find in Sekesha, so all of his needed to be specially made. Yuugi just couldn't abide by the normal trend of wearing pants without some form of underwear on. Atemu had laughed at him all those years ago when he'd insisted on the article of clothing be made as soon as possible, but even now Yuugi had the King silently wearing a pair.

His brain was getting off on a tangent again. It was doing that a lot lately, since he'd had so much time to just his thoughts. He shook his head to try and order his thoughts again, and grabbed at the articles of clothing. It was only a simple button down shirt and slip on pants, and luckily they were cotton, which was far softer than the favored linen.

The pants were harder to get on, considering Yuugi did not have the ability to fully lever his weight properly. He went as far as he could without pain, and Ryou helped with the rest. As he was buttoning up his shirt, Ryou walked back over with a wheel chair. He placed it next to the bed and helped Yuugi into it.

Yuugi did not complain about using it anymore, but he still frowned whenever he looked at it. He was getting stronger, and could walk a few feet on his own, but the fact that he still needed to get across a simple room made him angry at himself. He saved the world. He was _King_, and people had been depending on him for a so long, and now... he was so useless. He did not want to be a burden any longer.

Ryou wheeled him into the adjoining room. It was a very large room that held a private bath chamber, and multiple devices to help him with his physical therapy. There was a padded table that had been set up so he could receive deep tissue massage, a few small weights, crystals and keystones to help infuse more energy into his body, and a set of parallel bars set at the height of Yuugi's hips. That was where Ryou brought him to, as Yuugi was working on his ability to walk again.

Yuugi grunted as he pushed himself out of the chair. It was still painful at times using his muscles so much. Ryou had told him that he'd lost nearly all of his muscle mass in the first two months he'd been bedridden. There was very little left that could actually control his body.

Ryou was right behind him as Yuugi held onto the bars tightly and used the leverage to hobble his way onward. "Easy, Yuugi. One step at a time."

Yuugi chuckled. "I know, Ryou. I intend to make it to the other side and back today."

Ryou shook his head, but continued to follow Yuugi diligently, just in case he fell. His friend and King always pushed himself too hard. As Yuugi continued to go, one little inch at a time, Ryou found himself wanting conversation. He already knew what sort of answers Yuugi would give if he inquired as to the King's current mental or physical state, but he wondered what else his friend had been thinking about all that time he'd been in bed.

"You know, Ryou," Yuugi started on his own. The bridge of his nose scrunched as he struggled with another step. "I think I know what I need to do, as soon as I am strong enough."

Ryou's ears perked up. "Oh? What's that?" He hadn't expected Yuugi to state anything without prompting.

"There's one more person that needs my help."

Yuugi faltered and his knees began to buckle again. Ryou slipped his arms underneath Yuugi's armpits and held him firm. "Yuugi, as much as I admire what you can do and what you've done, you're not in shape to help anyone right now."

Yuugi chuckled bitterly. He straightened up again and started once more. "I know that, Ryou. I didn't mean now. As soon as I'm strong enough, though. When I can walk out of here on my own."

"Who is it?"

Yuugi would have responded, but the door creaked open as someone else entered. Yuugi paused in his progress to see who it was. "Atemu!" He smiled.

The King smiled back warmly. "Hello, sweetheart," He walked up and pressed his lips to Yuugi's temple. "How are you today?"

"He's doing well," Ryou grinned.

Yuugi pushed his legs to start walking again. "Are you on lunch break, Atemu?"

"Yes, dear. I wanted to see you." He stood by the bars just ahead of Yuugi and watched as he neared the end of the bars.

"Atemu, I have some news for you." Yuugi stopped at the end of bars and sighed. Already he was so tired. His bonded wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

"What's that, Yuugi?"

"I'm going back to my old world, as soon as I'm strong enough."

Atemu's eyes went a little wide as he looked into Yuugi's nearly endless lavender orbs. "What do you mean?"

Yuugi sighed as he stepped closer to the open window. Atemu walked with him and held him upright as they went closer. "Atemu, I just have this horrible, horrible feeling that I need to go back. I need to find Jou."

Atemu tensed a little, but forced his muscles to relax. "Your old roommate. The one you said looked like Jono."

Yuugi put a hand on the window sill and leaned against it. He looked out at the snow covered city below. "Yes. He...wasn't a bad person. He saved my life more than once. I need to go back, Atemu. I need to save him."

Atemu frowned. "I don't like the idea, Yuugi. Traveling through dimensions is so rare. Leaving this one is almost unheard of. Not to mention, with all of the stories I've been told of your old world... I don't want you going back there again."

Yuugi laughed. "Oh, Atemu, it won't be dangerous for me anymore. Magick doesn't exist there. Even in my weakened state, I could hold my own there just fine." He buried his face in Atemu's shoulder. Being able to hug his bonded had become such a novelty. "I wouldn't be going alone, though. I want you to come with me."

"Me?" Atemu asked. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yuugi's right," Ryou interjected. "That world isn't all that dangerous. With the right clothes and enough money, you can do anything there."

Atemu sighed as he too looked out the window. The Winter Solstice was only a month and a half away. He had a lot of work to do in order to prepare the city for the event. "When you're well enough, Yuugi, I will go with you to your old world. We'll save Jou."

Yuugi smiled. "I know you think I'm crazy. It's just...a feeling. It's like when the birds know winter is coming, and they start to migrate. I just know this is one of the reasons I'm still living; to go back there and set something right."

Atemu smiled back. "You're my Bonded, and my partner, Yuugi. Whatever task you need to accomplish, I will be right next to you, fighting with you all the way."

_xxx_

It had been seven months since Yuugi had been brought back from the dead. The Winter Solstice was three weeks away, and the city was a frenzy of activity.

The first note of joy was not only was Yuugi walking on his own, he was fully healed.

Well, as fully healed as he was going to be. He was sitting side by side with Atemu on his own throne during court sessions, council meetings, and performing his own royal duties. The upcoming celebrations were highly anticipated, for everyone was planning on using the excuse the celebrate Yuugi's recovery.

After all, if the Entities were to be believed, Sekesha had a divine being once again occupying its throne.

Currently, Atemu was waiting in his bed chambers. Yuugi had sent Mahaado to get him, only saying that he had something important to show him. Atemu could only guess what Yuugi was up to, but was waiting patiently anyway as he sat on the edge of his bed.

After what seemed like an hour, Yuugi stepped through the door that led to their private bath chambers. Atemu's jaw nearly hit the floor.

He'd never seen someone wear so much leather in his life. Yuugi wore black leather pants that looked so tight, they could have been painted on. _Three_ studded belts draped over his thin hips. His shirt was short sleeved and also leather, with a ridiculous amount of buckles strapped across the front. His boots were black leather and also studded. He wore a black choker, wrist cuffs, and gold arm bands. Pointed earrings dangled from his earlobes.

Yuugi grinned and put a fist on one of his hips. "Well, what do you think?"

It was a full ten seconds before Atemu answered. "What on earth is that?"

Yuugi's grin widened. "It's what _we're_ going to wear in Domino."

The King crossed his arms and set his jaw. "Absolutely not. You won't get me into that ensemble even if my life depended on it."

Yuugi's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Oh yes I will." As he walked closer to his bonded, his belts clanked and jingled softly. "Come, now, dear, you have to admit I look pretty darn hot."

Atemu snorted. "Hot, indeed. You must be sweating in all of that leather."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "I forgot about needing to teach you slang. You'll have to learn about words like 'home dog,' 'shindig,' 'mo-fo,' 'biznatch,' and-"

"Hold on a second," Atemu began. "I said I'd go. I never said I'd make myself look like an idiot whilst doing it."

Yuugi laughed. "This trip is going to be very entertaining."

Atemu shook his head. "Where did you even get all of that?"

Yuugi took a moment to admire his ensemble in the floor length mirror that was on the wall. "I had the palace leather-smith work on it for the past couple of weeks. He did a fantastic job. There's an outfit for you waiting in the bathroom."

Atemu sighed. He couldn't help but admire Yuugi's rear as his bonded modeled in the mirror. He did have to admit that Yuugi did look fantastic in that outfit. "Anyway, Yuugi, we need to talk about actually getting to your old world. Traveling alone is one thing, but traveling across dimensions with two people is tricky. We'll need something powerful to keep us together."

Yuugi turned around and looked at Atemu in contemplation. "I've been thinking about that." He sighed and fiddled with one of his wrist cuffs for a moment. "We'll have to redo the blood bond."

Atemu frowned, himself. "It would seem the most sound solution, but are you truly strong enough? You know the effects of the spell. It could be...detrimental for you."

Yuugi frowned as he looked at his wrist. "Atemu, I should show you this. Just...don't be frightened."

Atemu hated how easy it was for Yuugi to make him panic. He watched as his bonded removed a wrist cuff completely and exposed one of his pale wrists. He pulled a small knife from a holder on his hip and made a thin slice across his wrist. He barely winced as his blood began to flow.

Yuugi walked over and held his arm up for Atemu's inspection. What the King had not expected to see was a dark red, almost _purple_ color ooze from the cut, a milky silver substance swirling in its depths. "What...what's wrong with it?"

Yuugi frowned as he fingered the blood. "There's nothing wrong, per-say. I noticed the difference when I had a nose bleed a few months back. I discussed it with Ayana and Ryou, and I think we've come to a conclusion about the difference. The female Entity said that my body had been scarred. I think this is one of the effects, right down to the color of my blood. It's like...a residual scar, almost like the blood was burned by all of the magick. The silvery stuff in there is the leftover magick the Entity used to resurrect me. It's always going to be there."

Atemu watched as Yuugi removed a finger and showed it. "I'm...shocked."

Yuugi shrugged. "It's still red when it's been diluted a bit. Even pink like normal blood when water mixes with it."

The King covered Yuugi's cut with his hand. The sight of Yuugi's blood still had him uneasy. He'd never be used to the sight. "How does this affect making a new blood bond?"

Yuugi sighed. "I..." He paused. "I think I will not experience any pain. And I think our bond will be even stronger this time around."

His bonded frowned. "Stronger how?"

He sighed as he held onto Atemu's hand. "It would be a guarantee that when one of us dies, the other does, too. Being in different cities would also be difficult. The long distance would probably have physical repercussions. Oddly enough, I believe that we'd also be able to use the bond to teleport to each other quickly and easily, no matter how far or close we are apart."

Atemu smiled thinly. "Those sound like repercussions I can deal with. The thought of you in another city without me is distasteful, and I know that we have long lives ahead of us. I don't want to spend moment in this world without you."

Yuugi tried very hard to hide his frown. He had been told what Atemu had almost done the day he'd been brought back. Yuugi had been shocked, then saddened, then unsure. How could he possibly broach such a subject to him? Yuugi wouldn't even know the first thing to say. Should he reprimand him? Console him? The situation confused him, so he said nothing at all. Atemu said nothing regarding it, even in passing, and Yuugi wasn't keen to start. "I suppose it's settled, then. Tonight, we'll seal the bond, then tomorrow, I'll portal us to Domino."

Atemu nodded. "How long do you suppose this should take? We have a lot to do in order to prepare for the Solstice."

Yuugi shrugged, then healed his cut. "I don't know for sure. No more than a day to find him, I think. I know all of Jou's hiding places. Maybe even a couple of days. We'll also have to see if time travels differently there."

Atemu stood up and pulled Yuugi into a hug. "This should be interesting."


	34. Ghosts

_Dripping Wings_

Atemu shifted uncomfortably in his new clothing. The leather, as good as he made it look, stuck unusually close to his skin. He wasn't used to clothes that clung to him like a second skin. He wasn't sure he was ever going to like it. Yuugi was in front of him at a table as he looked over the book that contained the spell that he would use to open the portal.

Atemu frowned to himself as he watched his Bonded read the ancient tome. He really didn't want this excursion to take more than just a couple of days. The two of them had visited the High Priestess of Tranquility earlier that day to check up on her status. Yuugi's eyes had grown very wide in surprise when he looked upon her swollen belly. The priestess was a little over eight months pregnant, and was due to give birth in a couple short weeks.

If they missed the birth of their own child, Atemu felt he might have a fit. Yuugi, however, was very adamant about getting to Jou as soon as absolutely possible. He refused to take 'no' for an answer. They could not wait.

"All right," Yuugi announced. "I believe I have it."

He raised an eyebrow. "You only believe? You're not positive?"

Yuugi made a small face and shrugged a shoulder. "Well, nothing in magick is _positive,_ now is it? I'm reasonably sure I can get us there and back without any trouble. There's a .05 percent chance that our body parts will end up in twelve different dimensions at once."

"Comforting."

Yuugi cracked his knuckles, then raised his hands in front of him. "Sarcasm won't get you anywhere. We'll be fine! Trust me."

Atemu could only shake his head as Yuugi began the incantation. A strange, multi-colored glow started to permeate Yuugi's skin as the spell grew. There was a rhythm in the air, as if silent drums were being beaten, and the energy burst forth and started to swirl in front of his hands. As the colors mixed and swirled, the energy started to tear at the air and pull the visible threads of reality apart. Right where the image of the wall at the other end of the room used to be, a darkness that held within it spots of amber colored light swirled into existence.

The hair on the arms and back of the neck of both of them were raised on end as electrical currents buzzed in the air. Yuugi stopped chanting and lowered his arms. The portal was finally done. He turned to Atemu and motioned for him to follow, but his Bonded was skeptical. "I don't see anything on the other end but darkness, Yuugi."

Yuugi nodded. "We won't see anything clearly till we get to the other side." He pulled out a small phial of liquid from his shirt pocket. "Here. A linguistics potion, so you'll be able to understand Japanese."

Atemu smiled a little as he took the phial. Linguistics potions were very difficult to make, and Yuugi had seemed to manage it with ease. After all, if he couldn't make it, no one else in their world could. He was the only one that actually spoke and understood the foreign tongue, and only one with the knowledge of the language could make a potion for it. His memory flashed back to their very first time meeting, and he had given one to a very wary Yuugi. _So much time has passed. I wonder if there's going to be anything left of Jonouchi for us to even salvage._ He drank the phial and felt the language seep into his conscious. When he was done, he slipped his hand into Yuugi's and laced their fingers together, then squeezed firmly. With one final breath, he nodded, and they walked through.

At first, it felt as though the earth had given out beneath them, and they tumbled. The darkness and the amber lights flickered and swayed, wind whipped their hair, and they tumbled.

Yuugi cried out as he felt a deep, hard tug pull at his being. A line of red lightning sizzled and hissed between him and Atemu. Their blond bond was being pulled upon, but it was holding firm. The dimension traveling wasn't going to separate them, no matter how hard it tried.

A flash of pain and light later, and they tumbled to the ground on the other side of the portal.

It was night in Domino City. The pavement below their hands and knees was damp with summer rain. Atemu felt the dirt from the ground as it stuck to his wet fingers. They pulled themselves up together and leaned against one another for support. Yuugi clutched at his head and waited for the world to stop spinning. He'd had a notion that traveling through dimensions would be disorienting, but he hadn't realized it would feel like a mountain had just fallen on his head.

"Are you all right?" Atemu asked him.

"Fine," he rasped out. Slowly, surely, the world began to right itself again. He blinked rapidly a few times and watched as his surroundings came into focus.

They were on Seventh Street and Main, just a few blocks away from his old apartment. Yuugi had to take a moment to gather his bearings. After so many years of being gone, it was amazing how quickly it was coming back again.

The shadows. The gangs. The thieves. Drug dealers, drunks, debt, hunger, fear... The basic facts of his old life swam in front of his eyes. He'd forgotten just how much he never wanted to come back.

"Yuugi," Atemu intoned softly next to him.

He blinked and breathed deeply. Apparently he hadn't moved for a good few minutes. He felt his heart rise from the pit of despair he'd felt it fall down. Atemu was with him. His life in Sekesha was _not_ a dream.

His resolve to save Jou strengthened. "Let's go, this way," he pointed to the left. "Keep to the shadows, Atemu. It's best not to draw too much attention."

Atemu kept close to Yuugi's side as they made their way down the road. This world was very alien to him. The buildings were tall and dark and angled. Stairways led up and up and up to windows high above them. Street lamps poured amber colored light into the dank air. Strange, large devices made of metal were placed next to the side walk. Some of them were moving along down the street.

Yuugi caught Atemu's intense stare and elaborated for him. "Cars. They run by burning gasoline for energy, and use constructs of metal and gears to turn the wheels and carry people at high speeds."

"Interesting," he frowned.

There were few people on the streets. Yuugi determined it must have been very early in the morning. One, perhaps two am. No one was around. It was only five minutes later when they rounded a corner and the old apartment building came into view.

Yuugi paused and looked upon the old, crumbling entryway. He wondered if Jou even still lived there. It was doubtful, but it was the first place to start. Thus, he pulled Atemu into the shadow of the building, away from the light, and unfurled his wings. His bonded gave him a funny look, but Yuugi pointed upward. Atemu's red eyes followed, and saw a small platform three stories up at the end of one set of narrow iron stairs. "Why are there so many stairs on these buildings?" Atemu questioned.

"These are residences. Those stairs are fire escapes."

The King narrowed his eyes at the site. "People_ live_ here? It's dilapidated!"

"Low-rent district," Yuugi shrugged. "No one here has any money." He flapped his wings and rose to the platform. Atemu was quickly behind him.

The were no lights behind the smudgy window they stood in front of. They hid their wings again and Yuugi looked in.

The place was deserted, with not even a trace of use. The insides looked gray with a thick layer of dust on everything. There was no furniture, and no signs of life. It was deemed safe to enter. With a little charm, Yuugi had the window unlocked and was sliding in.

Atemu lifted his left leg and hoisted it over the windowsill. His boots were heavy, and his pants pulled strangely. Yep. He definitely hated these clothes. He was just about to stand upright when a small light flooded the room, then Yuugi fell back into him and held onto his arms tightly. Startled, he pulled his bonded close. "What is it?" He looked around Yuugi's head to see.

"It...it hasn't been touched. At all. After all this time, nothing's been moved!" Yuugi walked forward slowly, almost as if he was afraid to touch more of the floor. The small orb of light he'd summoned with his Gift gently floated next to him. Slowly, he bent over and picked up an old, dust ridden towel. "I dropped this on the floor the day I fell in the portal! And here!" He moved again and picked up a ratty looking sweater. "I wriggled out of this when the thug had me! I-" Still, he continued to look around. Years of dust covered everything. It was clear nothing had touched the apartment in a long time.

Yuugi shook his head. "I don't understand why this place hasn't been rented out again. Why was nothing touched?"

Atemu shivered. The tiny apartment was like something out of a pale nightmare, veiled by dust and memories. _He used to live here. My Bonded lived like this. I thought I could imagine what it was like, but it's so _cold_ in here and so terrible._

Stains of unknown origins covered every surface. The sink of the barely-there kitchen was green and brown and black. The walls were yellow and splashed with red and dark dark burgundy. It could only be blood, a fact that was affirmed by the splash patterns and the flaking, dried edges. "Yuugi, let's leave. There's nothing here."

It appeared that Yuugi could not tear his eyes away from the horror on the hole filled walls.

"Yuugi!" He grabbed at Yuugi's shoulders and pulled him closer. Yuugi flinched, but seemed to be pulled out of his thoughts. "Y-you're right. There's nothing here. Let's go."

Atemu pulled Yuugi out of the window and closed it with a resounding _snap!_ His Bonded was still shaking in his arms, and he held him close until he felt Yuugi had once again regained control of himself.

"Forgive me," he started. "I hadn't expected to find the place exactly as I'd left it. I can't understand why it hasn't changed. Something terrible must have happened-must still _be_ happening. Apartment owners don't just leave a room like that! They need as much rent as they can get!"

Atemu could not come up with a reply. With a flick of his hand, he used his shadows to snuff out Yuugi's orb. They wouldn't need the illumination anymore. "We should move on from here. The answers are probably lying with Jou. Where else would he be?"

Yuugi shoved his head into Atemu's shoulder and sought comfort. He sighed. "Next...I'd guess the bar. Come on. It's only a few blocks from here."

"The place is still open?"

Yuugi chuckled through his shaky breath. "The bars here don't close until three in the morning or so. People party until very late at night."

"Every night?"

"Hmm...five on Saturdays."

Atemu found himself shocked as they winged themselves off the stairs and landed on the pavement below. "Does anyone ever get any sleep around here?"

"Sometimes," Yuugi replied. So far, every word from him since entering his old world sounded old and bitter. Atemu couldn't wait to get him home.

There were still very few people on the road as they ambled their way on, but Atemu did notice that the closer they got to the bar, the more people that appeared, and very few of them looked friendly. Yuugi had told him before that not everything and everyone in this world was terrible, but that he simply lived in a bad part of town.

Bad, indeed. He wondered just how many 'bad parts' of this world there were. It seemed to be barely a pale comparison to the greatness of Sekesha.

The bar was a small little joint with a double door and shiny neon lights. Steady vibrations were heard pounding through the walls as the bass from the music filtered through the thin walls. Atemu would have preferred to take a breath and steal himself before entering the cacophony within, but Yuugi pulled on his arm and pulled him in without hesitation.

It was mostly dark inside, loud, and frankly, Atemu felt suddenly claustrophobic. He'd never seen people move around so closely before. It was clear even to an alien foreigner like him that the people were partaking in some form of dancing, but it appeared to him to be more like an orgy with clothes on. This point was even confirmed as the movement of the dancers' hips was punctuated by the steady rhythm of the bass.

Yuugi wove through the crowd and headed to the bar at the back of the room. The bartender was currently cleaning a smudgy looking glass mug and wore a decade old scowl on his face. His arms were huge with muscles. His clothes were faded black and looked like they'd seen better days, and he hadn't shaved in perhaps a week. Atemu would probably not have trusted any food that had been served by him.

"Keith!" Yuugi yelled over the noise.

The blond haired man looked up, and for a moment his scowl vanished and he grinned toothily. "Yuugi!? Holy shit, it's you!" He waived the violet eyed man over with enthusiasm.

A small blush tinged Yuugi's cheeks. It had been years, after all, and suddenly he showed up again without warning. "It's been a while, Keith!" Yuugi pulled Atemu safely up behind him and rested his hands on the bar.

Keith shook his head as he looked at Yuugi. "Damn, look at you! You're..."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Grown up? Taller? Better looking?" He gave a half grin.

The bartender shook his head, then leaned in closer. "You're _alive!_ Everyone's believed you to be dead for years now-thought Gozaburo's gang finally got to ya."

Yuugi's face darkened a tad. "Yeah, I suppose you would have. I really suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I've been...pretty tied up for a while."

"Shit," was Keith's response. He kept cleaning the mug. "Want something, pal? On the house."

Yuugi shook his head no. "Thanks, but no. You know I've never had any."

The man shrugged.

"Anyway, do you know where Jou is?" Yuugi pressed.

Keith frowned and shook his head. "Haven't seen him in a couple of years, Yug. If you see the deadbeat, make him pay up on his tab."

Yuugi sighed and reached his hand towards his back pocket. Atemu noticed how Yuugi faked his reach into his pocket and instead used a charm to magick up some money into his hand. "How much does he owe?"

"Two thousand yen."

Yuugi winced. "You know you shouldn't have let him rack it up that high." He started to count out the money and slapped it on the counter. "Here, keep it all. I've no use for it."

Keith whistled as he started to count the enchanted money. "Alive and loaded, remind me to stay on your good side."

"Would you know where we could find him?" Atemu asked.

Keith looked up and seemed to have noticed him for the first time. If he thought it was strange that he looked so similar to Yuugi, he didn't mention it at all. Not even a flicker of his eyes. "I suppose you should check downtown. That's where everyone says he spends all his time these days."

Atemu wasn't sure what was held in 'downtown,' but Yuugi's shoulders slumped down. "Figures," he replied. He waved at Keith in goodbye. "Thanks, Keith. I probably won't see you anymore after this. You've been a big help."

Keith's face settled back into its natural scowl. "Sure. Whatever. Good to see you're healthy, punk. And good luck."

He smiled. "Thanks, Keith."

Yuugi pulled away from the bar and grabbed Atemu's arm again.

:_I take it you know where Jou is,_: he spoke through their mind link. The yelling was too much work over the loud music that never stopped playing.

Yuugi's head nodded. :_I've got a pretty good idea. We'll have to head there in the morning._:

As Atemu nodded his understanding, Yuugi started looking around the club. :_You know..._: he started thinking back. :_I think we should dance before we leave here._:

Atemu gave him a scandaled look. :_You've got to be joking, dear. I'm not allowing my body, much less _yours,_ to mingle amidst this crowd. All I smell is alcohol and sweat._:

Yuugi chuckled. :_Aside from the smell, it's kind of the point. Come along, just trust me on this. Join me._:

Yuugi pulled and he resisted only minimally. They slowly swam through the crows until they were just a little away from the middle of the dance floor, and Atemu allowed Yuugi's hands to settle on his hips and they started to move. :_Who was Keith, anyway?_:

:_Keith has been the bartender here for years. Whenever Jou got really drunk, he'd call me and have me take him home. He's a tough asshole most of the time, but whenever I was in a real pinch and Jou couldn't be there, he was a real help. One of the best guys to have next to you in a fight. I've seen him go down swinging._: Yuugi replied.

Atemu closed his eyes as he mulled over the information. So, an old friend then. There were bound to be a few still around.

A new song started to play, and it seemed that the DJ pumped the music even louder. Atemu listened to the lyrics closely as the very steady beat pounded in his ears. _You let me violate you...you let me desecrate you... _The beginning thus far was slow, but steady. Everyone slowly got into a strong, steady rhythm of grinding to the beat. Yuugi subjected him to the same. Y_ou let me penetrate you...you let me complicate you...help me..._

Strange lyrics. His body moved more as Yuugi guided their movements. The floor was absolutely crowded with people. The heat from the crowd was almost stifling, and Yuugi's cool touch was like a glass of fresh water. _I want to fuck you like an animal...I want to feel you from the inside..._

Yuugi touched his face and trailed his hand down Atemu's chest. The people of this world apparently were not prudent at all when it came to subject of sex in public. He would have been embarrassed for himself as he became aroused, with Yuugi grinding against him as he was, but everyone around them was doing much the same thing. No one gave them a second look.

Yuugi dipped his hips and swayed sensuously, and as he did so he squeezed Atemu's hips with his hands and guided his lover's hips with him. Bolder moves that brought them closer. _Help me...it's your sex I can smell..._

The song felt like it went of for ever, and the more he danced the more the beat took over the beating of his heart, the music feeling as if it was moving through his blood stream. It was exhilarating. The friction from Yuugi's body was driving him mad. Every sway, dip, and movement. Their bodies never parted.

Yuugi pulled away only slightly, but it was enough to capture Atemu's attention as he pulled back and swayed their hips by his direction. Yuugi grinned into Atemu's shoulder as he felt his partner's arousal against him. He couldn't blame the poor man for being so easy to turn on. After all, they'd only made love twice in the barely two week time span that he'd been mostly recovered.

The song ended when a stronger, faster beat started to take over, and all of the couples broke apart and started hopping along to the new song. Atemu was forced out of his trance and suddenly realized that sweat was trailing down his skin. He blinked rapidly and stared at his lover. Yuugi was smiling and sweating as well. The tension from earlier seemed to have melted off his frame. "That was...interesting," he conceded.

Yuugi laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

He tapped a finger on Yuugi's nose. "Never breathe a word of this back home."

Yuugi laughed even more. "Come on. Let's grab a hotel room for the night. We need to head to the station tomorrow and probably bail out Jou."

Atemu followed Yuugi out of the bar as he asked his next question. "What's the station?"

"Prison."


	35. Revelation

_Dripping Wings_

The hotel Yuugi chose was the one of the most expensive in town. Five stars, thirty three stories, and so notorious that the presidents of other countries often stayed there when they visited. Yuugi had reasoned that a place as nice as the Bella Noté Hotel had better security, and they would be safer in there. Certainly, if anyone got wind that Yuugi Motou was once again romping around Domino, there would be someone after him. Atemu wanted to keep their profile low just as much as Yuugi, but even he could not refute Yuugi's side of the argument. If they could get a full night's rest without sleeping with one eye open, he was all for it.

Even for all of its wealth and luxuries, Atemu couldn't help but think how generic and untouched everything felt. There was no life or personality to any of the rooms, and the sheets and bedding were just a little too stiff to really be comfortable. The clerk at the reception counter had given the both of them very scrutinizing looks when they'd entered, but as soon as Yuugi pulled out the cash and gave them a hefty tip, they were shown one of the unused villas and bid a very good night.

Even Yuugi was glad to be leaving once they had woken up. The gilded yellow walls and rich red carpet did nothing to make him want to stay, even though he'd spent his time in his old world wishing, more than anything, that he could escape the bad part of town and live a life in the lap of luxury. All he could think about as he looked at the marble columns and framed oil paintings was how much he wanted to go home.

It was ten in the morning when they showered and left. The police station was only a block away from the hotel.

Atemu saw, for the first time, Sunday morning traffic. Simply looking at the people stuck in their car as they slowly ambled their way down the street was miserable enough; he knew he'd hate to be one of them.

The police station was a very unremarkable building that was nestled between an office building and a corner market. Some of the windows were covered with bars and placed very high up. Cells, maybe? All Atemu knew was that if they really did need to 'bail out' Jou, he wasn't looking forward to breaking into a prison cell. The less people chasing them out of this world, the better.

Yuugi attempted to straighten the neck of his shirt before he pulled open the police station doors. No matter that he had done nothing wrong, a deep, well learned fear of policemen had been ingrained in his memory. Cops were _always _suspicious of the punks that lived in the low rent district. Simply walking into the station was practically begging the cops to strip search him for illegal paraphernalia.

The bell jingled as they opened the door. Yuugi walked in with a deep breath, Atemu right on his heals. This was the public entrance, so there was a reception desk right as they walked in. The both of them stopped in their tracks when they saw the police woman that was behind the desk.

"Mai?" Yuugi asked.

The blonde haired woman frowned at him as her eyebrows creased. She tugged lightly on the badge on her chest. "Office Valentine. How can I help you boys?"

Wow. It was almost creepy how many duplicates of their colleagues existed in Domino. Yuugi shook his head and walked up to the desk proper. "We're looking for someone. Jonouchi Kastuya. We were told he'd likely be here."

Officer Valentine's eyes narrowed. "Who's asking?"

"Yuugi Motou."

The look of suspicion was immediately wiped from her face. Officer Valentine's jaw dropped slack. "No fucking shit...Motou?" She leaned closer for a better look. "Damn. It _is_ you! You've had the entire Domino police force looking for your ass for _years _kiddo."

Yuugi stepped back a bit. "Uh...am I in trouble?"

The police woman looked behind her to her coworkers. "Hey, it's _Motou!_"

The office went momentarily silent as they looked up. A few more expletives were whispered as people poked their heads up from the cubicles they were stationed in. Officer Valentine looked back at Yuugi, then stood up. "This way, punk. Jou's in the back."

As Officer Valentine started to lead them through the station, Atemu questioned Yuugi through their link. _:What's going on here?:_

Yuugi shook his head for emphasis as he thought back. _:You're in the dark as much as I am. I have _no_ idea why they would be looking for me so much. Or be so shocked that I've shown up out of the blue. I didn't know any cops when I actually lived here.:_

Officer Valentine opened up the back door that led to the alley. Before she let them out fully, she gave Yuugi a stern look. "Maybe...maybe you're the help he needs now."

Yuugi didn't get a chance to question her as she let them out and closed the door behind them.

It was Atemu that spotted the blonde haired man as he sat on the steps by the door with a bottle in his hand. It was covered in a paper bag, hiding the label that indicated the contents within. Jou took another swig as Yuugi and Atemu walked over to be in front of him. Yuugi found himself speechless when he found tear tracks down Jou's pale cheeks. "Jou," he questioned.

The man hiccuped. "Go 'way, Yug. I told ya to quit haunting me _ages_ ago." He took another drink.

Atemu frowned. "He's drunk."

Yuugi pulled the bottle out of Jou's loose grip. He ripped the paper bag away and looked at the contents. The bottle of vodka was still nearly full. "Not yet, he's not." In a swift motion that startled Atemu, Yuugi threw the bottle against the brick wall on the other side of the alley. The glass shattered and clear alcohol spilled down the dark bricks.

Jou seemed to have been shaken out of his reverie, because he stood up as the glass shattered, his hands shaking. "...Yug?" he tried. He sounded afraid to believe.

Yuugi looked at him and smiled. "I'm here, Jou. I'm alive."

Jou's green eyes watered over again with more tears. "Oh my God." He quickly wrapped his arms around his long lost friend in a bear hug. "How...?"

Yuugi stood back and held Jou at arm's length. "That's a long story that I will tell you in a bit. But Jou, first things first, why are you back here in such a sorry state? And why the hell did the cops know _exactly_ who I am?"

Atemu crossed his arms and shifted on his feet. The movement caught Jou's attention and he looked over. "Yug, did you have a twin ya never told me about?"

Yuugi chuckled. "Jou, this is my Bonded, Atemu."

"Bonded?"

"Er...husband, if you will."

Jou's eyes widened with shock, and Atemu nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Damn. I...seriously? Never took you for the type, Yug."

"Pleasure to meet you too," Atemu interjected.

Jou shook his head. "Sorry, man. Forgettin' my manners again. Anyway...your questions." Jou walked back over and took his seat on the steps again. "The station knowin' about you, Yug, now that's easy to answer. Six months after ya disappeared, I started looking everywhere for ya, beyond Domino that is. Got myself cleaned up, joined the academy. Eventually joined the police force, and used every ounce of their recourses to find ya. Everyone knows you're the reason I joined. I gained friends here, and they tried to help me. No one ever expected ya to just...walk in here lookin' for me."

Yuugi found himself mildly surprised. He hadn't thought Jou would go to such lengths to find him. "I...thanks Jou."

Jou rubbed his temple with his left hand. "Ah, Yug', your trouble went deeper than I thought it would. _Much _deeper." He sighed and steadied his breath again. Yuugi and Atemu could see that he was still grieving about something, but what they still couldn't fathom yet.

"How do you mean...deeper?" Atemu questioned.

Jou dropped his hand back into his lap. "I thought it was Gozaburo's gang at first. Debt collector's, ya know? Seemed the most logical place to start. I disassembled every ring he had in the Domino and the surrounding cities. But Gozaburo was just a puppet. There'd been people after ya, Yug. Dangerous people. Ever wonder why you's could never get a good job, get out of the low-rent district? Ever wonder why every time you walked to the cleaner part of the city, people were chasin' ya?"

Atemu watched interested as Yuugi's body stiffened visibly. "You found out?" his Bonded asked.

Jou shivered. "I never thought...still can't believe...they do things to people ya only read in dark science fiction novels. Fantasy shit that's not supposed to be _real_... they were after you as much as I was, Yug. Every turn I made, they was one step ahead of me, but none of us could _find_ you. I knew they couldn't of killed ya. It wouldn't make sense for them to keep stringing me along, always one inch away from gunning me down or cutting my neck. This time Yug...this time, I went too far." Jou started to cry again. Yuugi went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jou, what are you talking about?"

"They got him...they _got him!" _

"Who?!"

"Seto!" Jou outright sobbed. "They got Seto! Dead...he's dead!"

Yuugi sat back and tried to absorb the information. Someone close to Jou had been murdered, but the name didn't ring a bell. "Seto who?"

"Seto Kaiba."

That brought a face to the surface. "Seto _Kaiba?_ The billionaire of Kaiba Corporation?"

Jou nodded. "I think I loved him, Yug."

Yuugi cursed. "Now what, Jou? What do you have left here?"

Jou shook his head. "I can't leave yet, buddy. I'm in too deep, now. I've got to get rid of them, once and for all. They're gonna keep killin', and raping, and that stupid crazy _sacrificing_ mumbo jumbo that they do. I can't leave, turn my back on everyone here, cause I know it'll rot the city from the inside out. Even if it kills me, I gotta try to stop them."

Atemu stiffened when Jou mentioned the word 'sacrificing.' "What, exactly, is it that they do that's so hard to believe?"

Jou shook his head. "I dunno if I can explain it right. Energy walls, glowing red and black eyes, knives that can go through fucking _walls_, it all scares the crap outa me."

Yuugi _and _Atemu cursed loudly. "I can't believe it. Rouges, _here_? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I was originally chased here, after all. Some of them had to remain," Yuugi said.

"Indeed," Atemu agreed.

Jou stood up and looked at them questioningly. "Yug, what's going on? Just where have ya been all this time? I've been lookin for ya for seven and a half _years_. What do you know?"

_xxx_

_Seven and a half years..._

The implications were strange. Yuugi had guessed that he'd been gone for the better part of six years, but an extra year and a half had gone by on Domino. That meant that time traveled faster here than in Sekesha.

How long had he really been gone from Sekesha before he was sucked back in again? Twelve years, rather than seventeen? Less? More?

Jou hadn't been entirely pleased that Yuugi and Atemu weren't very forthcoming with information on where Yuugi had been and what he knew about the strange habits of this dark organization that had been plaguing Jou for nearly a decade, but he was content with the fact that he was going to find out soon. As Yuugi had told him, it was much easier to show him rather than tell him, as Jou probably wouldn't believe him if he was told anyway.

It didn't matter what was told to Jou, though, it didn't stop him from being very nervous about taking Yuugi and Atemu directly to the main hideout of this sinister group. Yuugi and Atemu would only call them 'Rouges' to Jou, which was a bit more of a name than 'Them,' which was what they'd been dubbed by Jou.

Oddly enough, not even one name had ever been spilled to identify this group. It was one of the reasons they were so elusive and so hard to find and track. How does one track something without a name?

The gray office building loomed sixty stories above them. It was one of the tallest buildings in the city. Yuugi sucked in a rattly breath as he took in the skyscraper. Oddly enough, it was the building right next to the main offices of Kaiba Corp. "You sure this is it, Jou?"

The cop next to him nodded. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure. But Yug, seriously, this is suicide. No one outside of their groups comes out of that building alive."

Yuugi looked up at him and grinned. "I will."

"We all will," Atemu asserted. "Let's go."

"Hang on a sec," Jou postponed. "We can't just _waltz_ in there like we own the place! They'll kill us on the spot!"

"Why can't we? They can't touch us," Yuugi assured him. "Trust me on this, Jou. We've got weapons they don't have." He started walking directly up to the door.

Jou didn't start following him right away, so Atemu grabbed him by the arm and urged him forward. "Stick close to us."

Jou shuddered as Atemu pushed him up to the front door. "I don't know where Yug found ya, but ya creep me out almost as much as _They_ do."

"Why thank you," Atemu smiled.

Yuugi pushed open the door and walked in without preamble. Jou could only guess where his short, once always terrified friend had gained such foolish confidence, to be able to walk into death's hands without so much as a prayer to protect his rear end.

There were three people in the foyer. One was a woman that sat at the reception desk. The other two were men that stood near the door to the elevator. The looks the three of them received were very sharp, and very suspicious.

"Was there something we could help you with?" the woman at the desk asked. Her voiced was clipped and testy.

"I'm looking for your boss," Yuugi responded.

"He's busy," one of the men responded. They were both in business suits. The one that answered him pulled aside his jacket casually, and Yuugi and Jou noticed the gun handle that was sticking out of the waist of his pants.

Yuugi grinned. "Tell him this is important. From what I've heard, he's been looking all _over_ for me."

Both of the men drew their guns, and the woman shot up and disappeared behind a door that was behind her desk.

Jou covered his head with his arms and ducked as the bullets began to fly. The last thing he expected to hear when the gunfire ended was Yuugi laughing.

Atemu took a step closer as Yuugi kept his shield up. "Our turn," he replied. He extended his hand as if he were throwing a set of dice, and out of his palm a string of shadows leaped out and grabbed the guns right out of the man's hands. Jou realized a fight like this was completely out of his league as the guns were crushed under an invisible weight. They fell to the floor, useless hunks of black and silver metal.

The men went to run, but just as their backs turned shards of what Jou could only describe as pulsing sticks of light were sticking out of their backs. They fell dead instantly. Yuugi lowered his hand. "Told you this would be easy, Jou."

"Jesus...you're one of Them, Yug. No wonder They've been after ya. You're just like 'em."

"_No_," Yuugi stressed. "I am _not_ just like them. The things that I do are very different from what they do. Jou, I just got done fighting a war against them. We are anything but the same."

Jou only nodded as they entered the elevator and started to ascend to the top floor.

"Yug, this isn't like them. I wasn't jokin when I said they do some nasty stuff. I expect a horrible surprise for us when we get there."

Yuugi grunted, but he didn't comment.

The elevator ground to a screeching halt on level thirty six. The three of them held onto the railings and looked up, as the lights were starting to flicker.

"This can't bode well," Atemu observed.

"No shit, Sherlock," Jou grumbled.

Atemu gave Jou a funny look. "Who's Sherlock?"

Before the cop could further question Atemu's ignorance on the fabled detective, the door screeched open.

None of them expected the room on the other side to be the entire size of the building. They also didn't expect the remaining floors to be non existent. They could see the roof the rest of the thirty some stories up.

They walked in slowly. Very few lights were on. They stopped nearly half way into the massive expanse of a room.

"What in the hell..." Jou started to ask.

A bright white light flooded their vision. Every crevice of the room was lighted in all of its gory details.

Large wings that ranged the color of the rainbow were hung everywhere. From long chains that dropped down from the stories-tall ceiling, from every inch of the walls, hundreds, thousands even, of severed wings.

Yuugi doubled over and vomited. Atemu's face turned green.

It appeared that the wings of nearly every Assai and royal to have been murdered was hung in that room.

"I never even imagined that the source of all of those murders was here, hiding in your old world. Yuugi, even we didn't imagine _this_ was what we would encounter in here."

Yuugi wiped his mouth with the cuff of his sleeve as he stood. "Atemu-"

Whatever he'd been about to say was cut off as a deep voice started chuckling ahead of them. "So...the prodigal son returns. Welcome back...Yuugi."

In the center of the room a very tall man with pale hair and even paler skin stood. He wore a robe that was a soft blue in color. From his back a set of red and gold striped wings stretched out. The wings were not the way they were supposed to be, though. Many of the feathers were missing, and those that remained were tattered and frayed.

This time, Atemu had to fight very hard not to lose the contents of his stomach, too. "Those...those wings..."

The man smiled. "Yes, the wings of the great King Ahknomkanon. Old as they are, they provide a _great _source of energy for me."

"Those belonged to my _father!_" Atemu roared. His energy level rose as his anger grew. "You monster!"

The man laughed again. "I prefer the name Darticlous, but monster will also do. Apparently, my underlings have come to call me Dartz."

Jou ducked once again as Atemu threw a flurry of shadow spikes at the man. Dartz only laughed as a barrier was erected around him. It shimmered with red and gold threads.

"Oh, my dear royal, if only you knew the true story." The shadows fizzled away.

"You won't get away with this," Yuugi said. "Heard any news from Sekesha of late?"

Dartz's smile only grew, along with Jou's confusion. "Why yes, my dear boy, I have. Child of the Entities, who could have guessed? This only makes things, surprisingly enough, easier for me. How on earth do you supposed it was so easy to harvest the wings of the most powerful creatures of both worlds, hm?"

Jou spotted them first, but both him and Atemu had no chance of stopping any of them as the darts pelted into Yuugi. Most of them missed, but two hit his right arm. Yuugi's eyes grew wide, then unfocused as his knees buckled beneath him. He crumbled to the floor in a heap.

"I'm sure you can imagine our surprise when we discovered the one weakness of the Assai that even they didn't seam to be aware of. You see, no one really uses iron in Sekesha. There are other, better metals that are used instead. Can you imagine, Atemu? Rust. _Rust._ It's poison unlike any other for divine blood. Just a few tiny specks of rust entered into a divine creature's blood stream renders them useless. Yuugi's heart will shut down in a few minutes, once the poison of the rust reaches it through his blood stream. His wings, like so many before him, will be added to my collection. The power that they give off is simply amazing."

Indeed, the two darts that had made it into his arm were brown and flaky with rust. Yuugi twitched constantly.

Something in the air snapped. Jou's hair stood on end. The chains dangling from the ceiling began to levitate. Dirt from the floor began to rise into the air.

Yuugi had been told in great detail of Atemu's condition after his first few months in the palace. Some mages were far more prone to go rogue than others. When a mage went rogue, it usually meant their powers took control away from them, and they lost all reason.

Atemu wore four pendants at all times to help protect him. The vision he'd had when he was very young of Yuugi coming to save him had been the last 'fit' he'd had of when his powers left his control. His shadow gift was an angry one, and very often when he was younger, would fight him for control. How it seemed to have a limited intelligence all of its own, no one could answer, but Yuugi's arrival and Bonding to Atemu seemed like a blessing. With a light gifted bonded to him by blood, should Atemu's gift rage again, Yuugi's light gift, the natural balance for shadows, would be able to subdue it.

The fact that his shadow gift had accidentally destroyed a distant village when he was only twelve made it even more comforting to know that something worse wouldn't happen later.

Right now, though, Yuugi had poison running through his veins, only magnified by his divine blood.

Atemu's pendants popped and shattered. They fell to his feet useless. His normal mahogany eyes burned a red so bright they could have been neon lights. The air flew away from him and pushed the wings against the walls. He didn't even say anything as he started to advance on the man named Dartz.

Jou crawled over to Yuugi as the shadows continued to howl overhead. He may not have understood the mechanics of what was going on, but he wasn't entirely stupid. With deft hands, he pulled the darts out of Yuugi's arms and started the squeeze as much blood out as he could. "I know this stuff is all different from what I know, pal, but if there's one thing they teach us about being a cop, it's about knowing shit, and I know poisons. We gotta get as much of that crap out of ya as possible."

"Jou," Yuugi wheezed. His quivering left hand pulled at a pouch by his hip, but could not open it. His dexterity was gone. Jou noticed his hand and grabbed at the pouch.

The little black bag was a hell of a lot deeper than it looked. There were clear rocks, a strange looking powder, and a couple of phials of a strange looking substance inside.

"Rock...phial..." Yuugi groaned.

Jou pulled out a rock. The windows around them burst as Atemu started to yell. He covered Yuugi's body with his own as the glass shrapnel flew. Then he grabbed one of the phials. "What am I supposed to do with this, pal?" he questioned.

Yuugi's eyes looked at his arm. "Rock," he wheezed again.

Jou shook his head, sure he wasn't understanding, but pushed the rock against the wound. "Now what?"

"Phial..." Yuugi coughed.

Jou popped open the phial. He looked at Yuugi again for assurance. His friend nodded as the structural beams around them began to fall. Jou poured the substance on top of the rock. He was sure he had to be getting this wrong. It just seemed too easy.

Yuugi screamed when the liquid hit his skin. The clear liquid turned white and fizzled. It sounded like a chemical burn. The force of the pain turned Yuugi on his side, and his left hand went to cover the wound on his right arm. A soft white light encompassed him. He drew his legs up to his body in a fetal position.

Dartz yelled off somewhere, but the shadows were so thick neither of them could see a thing. "What's happening?" Jou yelled.

Yuugi whimpered as the glow around him started to fade. "Jou...come here..." The blonde man helped him to sit up. Yuugi attempted to catch his breath as more metal framework splintered and collapsed around them. "Atemu's powers...he's lost control. Jou, I have to help him."

"Are you insane?!" he yelled. The wind was getting harsher. "We'll both die!"

"No we won't!" He yelled back. "Now come on!" Yuugi couldn't stand up on his own power, so Jou had to help him.

They had to duck to make it through the storm of shadows that surrounded them. Just as Jou thought they might be getting somewhere, an epicenter of darkness stood in front of him. He could see nothing. He yelled in panic when Yuugi let go of him and rushed inward without another thought. His little buddy had definitely gone insane during his time away, wherever it had been.

Something slid up to his foot. Jou looked down and felt for it. Whatever it was, it had a wood handle, and it was heavy. He felt it some more.

It was an axe.

He picked it up and held it with both hands. Not wanting to stay in the same place in that chaos, Jou moved around the tornado of shadows that cackled and sang.

There! That man that they'd seen just minutes ago. Dartz looked to be fighting a fog of shadows around his neck. His feet were dangling inches above the floor. He appeared to be suffocating.

_Enough of this_, he thought to himself. Jou raised the axe and swung.

Dartz's head fell off of his shoulders in a shower of red that was sucked up into the wind. His long hair tangled and became dirty as his severed head rolled along the floor. His body flew off as the shadows drug it off somewhere beyond sight.

Part of the roof finally collapsed in. Jou cursed as he looked around. Luckily, he was close to a window.

Or perhaps, maybe not so lucky. He could very easily be thrown out of said window to the ground hundreds of feet below. Either way, he had to get out of that building. Whatever Yuugi was doing, it was beyond his ability to help now. The chains rattling in their harnesses started to give Jou an idea.

With some careful locating of the chains, examining their length, and a little bit of sloppy guesswork, he decided it was his only chance of saving his hide. Jou grabbed one of the chains, wrapped it around his waist and took a deep breath. Then he dived out the window.

He held to the chain tightly as he rushed down the side of the building. He knew the landing would be hell, but it was better than the prospect of getting squashed by falling beams and drywall.

The length of the chain ended, and his body jerked with the inertia of his fall. He was six feet above the ground. _Damn, I'm a lucky bastard._ He fought with the chains until he was free, then fell the rest of the way.

Bruised, scraped, bleeding, and very cranky, Jou ran as fast as he could from the crumbling skyscraper.

The building imploded. It looked just like a controlled explosion. He could hardly believe the accuracy as it fell. His ears were momentarily deaf as the thunderous noise faded away.

By God, they destroyed the entire building. Jou's little buddy, and that freaky husband of his, were a powerhouse. _Looks like he doesn't need my protection anymore._

It was a good ten minutes that he stood there, looking at the destruction with a detached heart. Yuugi, too? Alive, then dead again in the same day?

Two figures started to appear in the dust. Jou felt his heart jump into his throat as he saw Yuugi and Atemu leaning against each other as they stumbled away from the wreckage.

They were both alive. Thank the heavens.


	36. Departure

_Dripping Wings_

_Like a room that had suddenly been exposed to the vacuum of space, the heat bled from the building and left cold, icy crystals in its wake. Frozen wind whipped his hair and lashed at his skin. The shadows that swirled in a vortex around him snaked around his wrists, tightened around his waist, and bound his ankles. The shadows condensed, smoothed, and became chains that glowed a green-black on his tanned skin. _

_His skin broke under the ice of the chains. His blood started to spill, but it could not drip to the floor, as it was sucked away by the ever present wind. His eyes stung and weeped, but no matter how many times he blinked he could not see. _

_Atemu had felt the life force of Dartz leave the man's body some time ago. Were he in control, the shadows would have long been silenced. Now, however, with Yuugi's presence a bare flicker in the hollow of his mind, and his pendants shattered to pieces, there was nothing to hold back their raging fury. Never had he been able to fathom why his gift was so rogue, or how the shadows had a strange sort of intelligence all its own. It was so primal, so simple, and so terrible in its wants. _

_Blood, chaos, freedom....the chants of those three words deafened his ears as the shadows continued to sing around him. They were free, and as long as they kept him tied up and locked down they could keep their freedom. _

_It hurt so much...his nerves were a single, blazing entity of pain and fire as the shadows sucked more of his energy away from him. He would die of this, he was sure._

_A light flickered in the distance. A powerful light it must have been, too, to pierce through the thick fog of shadows and chaos around him. _

_It flickered again. Atemu blinked rapidly to try and clear his eyes so that he could see. A faint glimmer of hope flared in his heart, a tiny candle in a hurricane's storm. _

_The shadows screamed their anger. Pain shot through his body again. His knees buckled underneath of him, as if he were a puppet and his strings had been cut. He could not feel his legs anymore. The chains tightened around him. _

'_Atemu...'_

_He screamed as his mind panicked. The agony was great, and the primal part of his mind feared for a moment that the pain might never stop. He could not stay sane with the way his body writhed and twisted from the hurt of it all. _

'_Atemu, I'm here.' _

_More pain. He squeezed his eyes closed as a bright white fire circled around him. The shadows screeched and tried to break through the circle, but the winds had already faded. Blinking away the tears, he could see again. _

_Atemu found it almost ironic that his first vision of Yuugi, the one that had alerted his parents to his gift of foresight, was the last one to come true in the series of events from this war. _

_As Yuugi's arms encircled him, the chains faded from his arms, his waist, and his legs. He sucked in a breath. He could _breathe _again. _

'_I'm here, Atemu. I'm not leaving you. You're safe.' _

_His savior. He felt his Bonded's gift of light pour into his body. He felt the tug as their blood bond built itself up as a barrier against the shadows. He could think again. "Yuugi," he gasped. _

_Yuugi smiled. 'Let's get out of here,' his mind voice whispered in his head. 'The building is about to collapse.' _

_Reality resurfaced. They _did_ need to get out of the building. 'Lead on,' he thought back. _

_***_

_Jou ran up to the two figures as they limped away from the wreckage. How they survived, he may never know. Just as he made it up the them, Atemu fell away from Yuugi's arm and collapsed on the dirt covered ground. Yuugi fell right beside him not but a moment later. _

"_Yug!" he urged. His friend blinked wearily at him, his eyes clearly unfocused. "C'mon, man, we gotta move! People are already starting to gather around!" _

_His heart twisted painfully when Yuugi tried to stand up, only to fall back down again. Jesus, if there was only one of them, Jou would have picked them up and thought nothing more of it, but there was no way he could carry two limp bodies anywhere. Always quick on his feet, though, he roughly dragged them a few feet away from the sight of the imploded building, and hid in the shadow of another building as he flipped open his cell phone. _

"_Hey, Valentine. Get over to 10__th__ and Nicollet, I need your help." _

***

Jou sat in one of the hotel room chairs and checked his watch again. He had to say, he was quite surprised that it was that freaky husband of Yuugi's that woke up first. Yuugi had at least been mildly responsive when they'd first been brought to the hotel room. Atemu had not only been completely unconscious, but ghastly pale and colder than death to the touch.

Three days' time revealed a different state at the moment. Yuugi was still fast asleep, whilst Atemu was up and leaning over him, doing something weird. Jou couldn't tell exactly what the man was doing, but his dusky hand was glowing slightly as it hovered over Yuugi's forehead.

Jou propped his chin on his fist as he contemplated the scene before him. One thing was for sure; Atemu was dedicated. He hadn't left Yuugi's side since he awoke, and was constantly monitoring his Bonded's state.

Of course, he hadn't said more than two words to Jou since he woke up either. His confused shout of 'where...what....' when he woke up were his first words. Jou explained, and Atemu nodded, but said no more.

The silence was nearly deafening. Jou squirmed in his seat. He hated awkward silences, and this Atemu person seemed to be particularly adept at creating them.

"I'm worried about him," Jou said at last. "He hasn't moved an inch since I brought the both of you here."

Atemu's forehead creased, but other than that he showed no visible signs of emotion. "He is still recovering. The damage he sustained was far greater than mine."

"So his way of recovering is to slip into a small coma?" Jou fired back.

Atemu spared Jou a glance, but only a short one, then focused his attention back to Yuugi. "I never said I understood it, Jonouchi. He is different even by my world's standards. All I know is it works for him, and I can feel his progress. He will wake soon."

Atemu's eyes were a very dark shade of red. The fading sunlight of the afternoon caused them to light in a strange way when he looked at Jou, and the cop felt himself shiver. How did Yuugi put up with such a creature?

Jou looked off to the side. The sight of the two still unnerved him. He hoped Yuugi woke up by the next day. He knew the worry would drive him crazy if he had to wait another three.

***

When Yuugi woke up, everyone was asleep. He blinked, and slowly moved his head. He was on a bed, and there was a heat source to the left of him. He turned his head left, and saw the chiseled face of Atemu resting quietly next to him.

Were they in their own bed? Safe and at home in the palace?

He turned his head right, and saw the tell-tale decorations of the Bella Noté Hotel. So, they were still in the hotel.

There were snores coming from past the foot of the bed. Yuugi sat up on his elbows and peered over. There was a tuft of blond hair poking out from one of the blankets on the couch. Jou was sleeping. Looked like he never grew out of his snoring habit.

Yuugi yawned and rubbed sleep out of his eyes. As much as he would have liked to go back to sleep, he stomach was very empty, and he wasn't in the least bit tired. He vaguely wondered how long he'd been knocked out. He had, after all, been poisoned, magickally drained, and acted as a buffer between Atemu and the shadows, which felt like a cheese grater against his raw nerves.

Yuugi sat up all the way and clicked on the little lamp right next to his side of the bed. As soon as the light came on, Atemu sat upright in bed and leaned over him. His red eyes were wide as he studied his face. "Yuugi?"

He smiled. "Atemu."

Atemu cupped the right side of his face and grinned. He leaned his forehead against Yuugi's and released a stress-relieving sigh. "You're finally up. Are you all right?"

"Fine, dear. Just very hungry is all."

Atemu ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "You've been out cold for over four days now. We were so worried about you."

Yuugi opened his mouth to respond, but the '_Whooza-wahtsists!' _outburst from the couch drew their attention. Jou sat up and flung the blankets off, but his eyes were still half closed in sleep. "What's going on?" He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. When he saw Yuugi sitting up, he smiled. "Yug!"

"Hey Jou," he grinned back.

"Damn, I was afraid you's never gonna wake up, pal." He got up and sat at the edge of the bed. "How are ya feeling?"

"Hungry," he replied. "Very hungry."

Jou checked his watch. "Two am. Kitchen's closed here, but I know a great burger joint that's opened till three thirty on the metro school campus. Wanna go?"

Yuugi's stomach gurgled. Atemu gave Yuugi a questioning look, having never heard of a burger before, but Yuugi smiled. "Jou, that's the best idea I've heard in ages."

The burger joint was called Fat Malley's. Even by Domino's standards it was a weird name, but no one contested the quality of the food. It really was one of the best burger joints in town. And certainly, traveling by bus had been an experience Atemu wasn't soon to forget. He felt so strangely _common_ riding around in public and no one being able to recognize him. On the local college campus, many people were dressed more oddly than himself and Yuugi in their full leather attire.

The burger place was quite packed for being two thirty am on a Saturday morning. There was actually a wait time to place their order.

Yuugi sat down with a grin bigger than he'd had in ages as he looked at his meal. A _triple_ quarter pounder with cheese, bacon, ketchup, and pickles. His mouth watered just thinking about it.

Poor Atemu. He stuck with a small french fry and shake. The burgers just looked a little too intimidating to try right away.

Five minutes into the meal, Yuugi dropped the bomb on Jou. "You should come back with us, Jou."

A fry was already half way to his mouth, but it paused as he stared back at Yuugi. "You're leaving again?"

"I have to, Jou. Sekesha is my home. I have responsibilities there, and a lot of people depending on me and Atemu to return. Come with us! You'll love it there. There's no gangs, no drugs, no violence daily in the city streets! It's peaceful, and beautiful! You won't have to worry about your future anymore, Jou. Please, come with us."

Jou dropped his food back onto his plate, and looked to the side. "Yug...I've..."

"What, Jou? What is it?"

"I've got a responsibility here, too. Someone here still needs me."

"Bring them with!" Yuugi said.

Jou looked up in a little shock. Bring them with? Was it possible? He entertained the plausibility of the idea. Could he really just up and leave it all? Would anyone else suffer if he left?

Atemu was very silent throughout this. He was not staring at either of them. Jou looked at him. "What about you? You okay with all this? Me comin' back with you and Yug?"

Atemu looked at him levelly. "You have saved our lives already, Jou. You have proven yourself a good friend, even if I still do not know you. If Yuugi wants you to come with us, who am I to say no?"

Yuugi smiled at him.

That made up his mind for him. "All right. I'll come."

***

Yuugi decided that the safest place to make a portal would be in their hotel room, with the doors locked and the windows closed. No one could see them, interrupt them, or follow them.

Yuugi was humming to himself as he packed a few things away in one of Jou's bags. Atemu meandered over from the closet and peaked over Yuugi's shoulder to see what he was doing. He was mildly surprised to see multiple packages of toothbrushes and ball point pens. "Partner, what on earth are you packing?"

"The two things I miss most from here. Soft toothbrushes and pens I don't have to refill with ink." The bag was absolutely stuffed when he finally tried to zip it closed.

Jou was pacing by the door and kept checking his watch.

Atemu noticed the behavior, and nudged Yuugi to alert him. Yuugi's eyes followed the gesture and noticed, too. "Jou, what's wrong?"

Jou tugged at his hair a little. "Just...she's just a little late."

"Your sister?" Yuugi tried. He hadn't actually asked who was coming, but assumed it had to be her.

Jou barked out a bitter laugh. "I only wish, Yug. She was one of the first to die after you disappeared, ya know."

"Oh, God, Jou, I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

Jou waved his hand. "It was years ago, now." He paced again. "No, it's Officer Valentine that's late."

"The blond from the station," Atemu asked.

"Yeah, that's her. She's bringing someone with her. I've been trying to hide him for ages now. He's been a target, especially since they...they got..." His voice choked up. Seto's death was still a recent memory, and the wound hadn't healed yet.

"They'll be here," Yuugi assured him.

"They better be, or I'll-"

There was a knocking on their door that interrupted them. Flustered, Jou opened the door. When he saw the person on the other side, his shoulders visibly relaxed. "Valentine," he said.

"Jou," the woman greeted back. Jou moved back, and Officer Valentine pushed a young boy through. He had a very messy mop of black hair that fell beyond his shoulders, and big watery blue eyes. "Mokuba," Jou smiled. He bent down and wrapped the boy up in a hug. He couldn't have been any older than eight years old.

Yuugi's memory may have been rusty from years of having been away from this world, but everyone knew Seto Kaiba, and everyone knew of his tiny younger brother Mokuba.

Mokuba held onto Jou tightly. Surely he was frightened. His brother had died, and he'd been forced into hiding for days already.

"You're leaving, aren't ya punk," Valentine stated. She looked directly at Jou.

The blond man stood up and looked at her, his smile a thin one. "Yeah. We're going to make a fresh start, Mokuba and me. We're going away from the stigma of Kaiba Corp., and the scandals that followed."

Valentine closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, having accepted the news. "We'll miss you, Jou."

"Give everyone my best."

She nodded, and gave a nod to Yuugi and Atemu before she left. Jou closed the door, and everyone turned to Yuugi.

Yuugi walked over and sat down on his heels in front of Mokuba to be at eye level with him. "Do you believe in magick, Mokuba?"

The boy made a face. "No."

Yuugi grinned. "You should." He held up his hand and allowed a small ball of light to glimmer and float above it.

The boy sniffed and folded his arms. "Technology can mimic just about anything. Big brother always told me that."

"Jou believes in magick," Yuugi countered.

"Nuh uh," was his childish response.

"Actually, Mokuba," Jou started, "I've had to accept that it's real."

Mokuba's eyes grew wide as he looked up at his only caretaker. "No way!"

Jou shrugged. "Yuugi's a good friend of mine, Mokuba. He wouldn't lie."

"But-!" Mokuba protested.

Yuugi put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Please don't be frightened Mokuba. I will protect you from anything bad that might happen. Just, please, hold very tight to my hand, okay?" Yuugi led them together, and had Jou and Mokuba stand between him and Atemu. With his free left hand, he threw a huge ball of magick into the center of the room, and worked to make it expand and solidify.

In a matter of minutes, a white colored portal was in front of them. The energies spread out to the walls of the room, even licked the paint clear off the drywall. The hair on their arms and neck stood on end, as though they were standing in a room full of electro-static cling.

"Everyone ready?" Yuugi questioned. He slung the bag he'd packed over his shoulder. "Do _not let go!"_ he stressed.

They jumped through.

The landing this time was considerably better, all things considering. This time, Yuugi and Atemu managed to stay standing, even though Jou and Mokuba fell flat on their rear ends.

Yuugi stood upright fully, but then doubled over again as the overload began to tax his body. He clutched at his head as dizziness caused him to sway. Atemu noticed this and was over to him quickly. He held Yuugi upright until the portal had been fully dispelled, and Yuugi could see clearly again.

Jou's mouth was hanging open in shock. Mokuba too, was gaping like a loon.

The main entrance of the Eternal Palace had very high ceilings, and very long corridors. It also had amazingly bright and luminescent black marble floors and glittering silver and palest of gold walls.

"Yug, where is this place? Where are we?" Jou questioned.

Yuugi smiled and allowed Atemu to walk him closer to the other two. "This, Jou, is the Eternal Palace, which is in the center of the Divine City, the capitol of Sekesha. Atemu and I-"

"_Your Highness!"_

Yuugi closed his mouth and Atemu turned his head to watch as someone rounded a corner and came strolling towards them with purpose.

"Kings Atemu and Yuugi! Pah! Kings indeed! Where on earth have the two of you been? The whole city has been worried _sick_ about you! Gone, for four days! You informed us that you'd only be gone for two! Do you have any _idea_ what has been happening since you've been gone?"

Yuugi chuckled as Atemu sighed. "Aunt Lilian, surely the country has not fallen out of grace since our absence."

Somewhere behind them, Jou spluttered.

"Priestess, what could have possible happened that would require us to be here for every minute of the past fourdays?" Yuugi asked. She was funny when she was upset like this.

"Y-Yug," Jou managed. "W-what is she talking about, _Kings?!_"

Atemu smiled at Jou. "Yuugi and I rule Sekesha together, on a double throne."

"What could be so important," Lilian kept on. "Good heavens, you men are all so dense! The High Priestess of Tranquility is in labor as we _speak!" _

"_What?!_" Atemu roared. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Yuugi's hand and dashed off towards the restricted area of the palace, where the priestess would have been taken to give birth to a royal child.

They ran and quickly as they could. Yuugi, once again, wondered to himself how people had put up with the ridiculously long corridors of the palace for so long. It was a good full minute of running before they finally reached the priestess's room. Yuugi pushed open the door and rushed in.

Ryou was in the room, standing over the bed the priestess was resting on. She was in the middle of a contraction, for she was still screaming when Yuugi reached her side. "Ryou! Boy, I'm glad to see you in here."

"Yuugi! We were afraid you wouldn't make it back in time."

The High Priestess gasped and caught her breath.

"How are you," Yuugi asked.

"Fine," she replied. "I just want this thing _out. It hurts._"

Yuugi placed his hands by the bulge in her belly. He sent soothing waves of pink healer's energy into her body to ease the pain. "How long has she been in labor?" he asked Ryou.

"Twelve hours," the healer replied as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

Yuugi nodded. "It shouldn't be too much longer now."

***


End file.
